The Mission
by Bouncy cat
Summary: Iruka goes on a mission with Asuma, Ibiki and Kakashi. Will be KakaIru yaoi eventually.
1. Chapter 1

**Title: The mission**

**Genre:** Romance/humor (hopefully)

**Rating:**T for now.

**Pairing:** KakaIru (eventually).

**Status:** WIP

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything. Everything belongs to Masashi Kishimoto

**Notes:** This story was beta-ed by **Chibinecco** (Thank you!).

It's my first story and feedback would be greatly appreciated.

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Iruka walked into the Hokage's room, only to see it was half filled with jounin.

"Godaime sama," he said as he bowed deeply to the Hokage, then turning to address the others present, he bowed to each in turn. "Sarutobi-san, Morino-san, Hatake-san, excuse me please".

Turning back to the Hokage he bowed again.

"You requested my presence?" Iruka glanced at the three jounin. "Should I come back later?"

"No, Iruka-sensei, you're right on time," she said smiling.

Iruka didn't like her smile. It seemed slightly sadistic. He knew it wasn't just in his head either; everyone knew the current Hokage was a little… different. She seemed to get a perverse kind of pleasure out of making people uneasy.

"Well, let's get to the point. Iruka, you will be going on a mission with those present here."

Iruka blinked and looked around the room again. He was to go on a mission with Asuma, Ibiki and Kakashi? Three elite jounin?

'_What the hell?_' What could he possibly do with these ninja except hold them back?

Iruka was no fool. He knew his own abilities. He was a good, dependable chuunin, and he had good people skills. He also knew that he would never in his life achieve the level of skill any of these men possessed. For Tsunade to send three jounin on a mission it had to be a difficult A-rank. Iruka had performed exactly one A-rank mission in his life, and that was only because it was a C-rank mission turned ugly. He still had the scars from it.

B-rank was the toughest that he ever got, and his last had been quite a while ago. What possessed Tsunade to send him along on this mission? Or rather, now that he thought about it, what humiliating task was he to perform? Would he be used as bait? Iruka was faced with the chilling thought that, compared to these ninja, a measly school teacher would be expendable. Then again, Konoha wasn't the kind of village that easily sacrificed any of its citizens. And bait for what? No, he was being ridiculous.

Tsunade interrupted his thoughts. "You must be wondering what part you'll play in this mission."

'_DUH!'_ Iruka thought. "Yes, Hokage sama" he replied politely.

She handed him a scroll and after a nod from her he opened it and read it through.

They were supposed to escort the daughter of one of the elders of the Hidden Star Village back to her parents. The girl had been in Konoha for educational purposes as she would one day follow in her father's footsteps as advisor and she was to learn about the other hidden villages.

Once every few years some of Konoha's influential civilian citizens would send their children to another village for some time, where they would live with guest families. It was seen as a good learning experience for the children and a sign of trust and good will towards the other village. In return some civilian children of the other village would visit Konoha. The tradition had started soon after the end of the third Ninja world war when the leaders of many countries desperately wanted to improve the relations between the villages.

Now this girl's parents wanted her back in the Star Village with them, and Tsunade had guaranteed her safe return.

Iruka understood the importance of this mission, Konoha still hadn't recovered from the blow dealt to them by the Sound village, and really, they needed all the allies they could get.

Bringing this girl home safely might not make the Star village an ally per se, but it certainly wouldn't hurt diplomatic relations. Something happening to this girl while she was in the care of Konoha's ninja would be very unfortunate; the girl's father was a powerful man.

When he read the girl's vital statistics he also understood what was to be his part in this mission.

He should have known.

The girl was eight years old, they wanted him to baby-sit.

How insulting.

He knew someone had to do it, though.

Jounin may be powerful, smart, cunning, and strong, but some of them were also not one hundred percent in charge of their faculties and not to be trusted with little children and Iruka believed that included present company. Besides that, they would have to put all their attention into keeping the kid safe. They'd have little time to care for the girl. In the meantime, the kid would get bored and get herself into trouble. They always did.

But why didn't they just send a female jounin, who'd had children herself, along with the group?

He handed the scroll back to Tsunade.

"Why not send along a female jounin, Hokage-sama?"

"I would have, but there aren't any available right now. The request for the girls return came much sooner than expected. Apparently the parents got word of some type of assassination attempt planned on the girl and they want her back home as soon as possible. We can't afford to wait for one of the women to return from their missions, so we chose the next best thing."

The Hokage smiled sweetly at him. "You."

Tsunade must have mistaken his look of pure outrage for one of concern because she continued, "Don't worry Iruka-sensei, Kakashi-san tells us you're quite the mother hen, you'll do fine."

Iruka struggled to keep his temper under control. Oh how he wanted to rip Kakashi's mask off and stuff it where the sun don't shine. That bastard! Embarrassing him like that, what had Iruka ever done to him? Except question the man's decision making abilities and mental health that is. And that last thing he hadn't even done to the guys face!

It didn't exactly help his mood that Kakashi was standing there right next to him, with that annoying one eyed smile of his. Iruka had the near uncontrollable urge to poke Kakashi's visible eye out with his marking pen. Huh, try and find a replacement for that one.

Iruka took a deep breath to regain his control. Arguing with the Hokage would be useless; she'd probably get a kick out of making him squirm. No, the best thing he could do was to act polite and dignified.

"When are we to leave Tsunade-sama?"

"You will have twenty minutes to get your affairs in order Iruka-sensei; the others are ready to leave. The girl is being brought here as we speak. You may go now."

Iruka nodded and sped out the door, racing down the stairs of the Hokage building. Twenty minutes was very little time, he needed to make sure his kids would have a substitute teacher and that said teacher had his lesson plans for the coming weeks. He needed to ask his neighbor to feed his cat and water his plants, and then he needed to pack for what may be several weeks of travel. The Star Village was located in the Bear country, where he'd never been before and Iruka was slowly starting to get excited about his trip. He'd always loved traveling.

It was close but he managed to get everything done and be back at the Hokage's office within twenty minutes.

As he walked into her room for the second time that day, he spotted the little girl that they were going to escort.

'_Well shit.'_

He knew that girl. Scratch that, this was no girl. This was a little hellion. This was a female Naruto in full prank mode with a sadistic streak the size of Anko's.

'In Konoha for educational purposes.' Yeah right. Iruka would bet his cat that her parents just wanted to be rid of her for a while.

Although the girl didn't attend the academy, she'd somehow struck up a fascination with his students. She'd been hanging around during the breaks and when he took his kids outside to practice. She looked like she wanted to play, but didn't know how to go about finding a playmate.

Iruka had felt a little sorry for her actually, which lasted until the youngest Aburame girl, Akina, had come running to him in tears, sobbing about the girl that was pulling the limbs of every bug she could find. By the time he'd made his way to the girl, she'd made quite the collection of squirming legless little creatures.

She'd listened to him preaching about unnecessary cruelty and protecting innocent life with an indifferent expression that just didn't belong on such a young face.

He went on and on before she finally interrupted him mid-sentence. "You are not my sensei. I don't have to listen to you." With a snooty look and a swish of her little ponytail she'd turned her back to him and strolled off, leaving Iruka with a severely distraught Aburame Akina, a throbbing vein on his forehead, and twenty three bugs that were trying to roll themselves away.

He hadn't seen her after that, but he'd sure heard of her. Akimichi Montaro got sick in class a few days after the insect incident and when the nurse asked him what he'd eaten he pointed at some of the weeds near the school. A familiar little girl had told him they were 'Tasty'. A few days later Shamanu, the puppy of Inuzuka Kiba's youngest nephew, was found rolling around in rotten fish. The stink was so bad Iruka had to send the boy, Morio, home with his dog and air out the classroom. Nobody knew how a dead fish had found its way onto the grounds of the academy, but Iruka sure had his suspicions.

"Iruka?" The Godaime interrupted his thoughts.

"I would like you to meet Ishikawa Leiko."

'_Huh, 'Leiko' that figures'_, Iruka thought.

"We've met, Godaime-sama" Iruka said with a strained smile.

"Nice to see you again, Leiko-chan."

He was going to kill Kakashi.

**End chapter 1**

Leiko: I found the name on a site with Japanese girl's names, they say it means 'arrogant'.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

This chapter hasn't been betaed yet.

Leiko bowed to him, avoiding his eyes.

"Good morning, sensei" she said sweetly.

Tsunade looked on in approval. "So you've met, have you? That's good."

Iruka almost replied 'No it's not!', but he thought better of it and just nodded. He was going on this mission whether he liked this girl or not so there was really no use in whining to the Hokage. Besides, he had an image to uphold.

"Alright everyone, I expect you back here in three weeks max. And you, little girl, I expect you to be good okay?" The Hokage smiled at the lot of them. "Now get out before I kick you out."

Iruka reached out to take Leiko by the hand, but she ignored him and skipped out of the room after Asuma. Damn, he sure hoped she wouldn't act like this during the entire trip.

When he looked up he saw Kakashi watching him curiously. Iruka felt a blush rise to his face, embarrassed that the man had witnessed the exchange.

He shrugged and gave Kakashi an awkward smile.

To his surprise the man smiled back at him. "Kids" he said, like that explained all.

Maybe for him it did, after all, the only children the man really knew were Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura, all of whom had their own little quirks. Naruto…Well, Naruto was Naruto. Sasuke was a traumatized, emotionally retarded boy desperately in need of a shrink. And Sakura…He didn't know what it was about Sakura, she'd always acted very sweet towards him, but sometimes he'd catch a glimpse of what she really felt inside and then she was just plain scary.

Giving one last nod to the Hokage they left the room and followed Asuma, Ibiki and Leiko down the stairs. They made a weird group together, Iruka decided. The strangest thing was the presence of Ibiki, though. As far as Iruka knew this wasn't the type of mission the man usually took part in. Why send an interrogation and torture specialist on an escort mission?

Were they really that short of ninja that they needed to send a man such as Ibiki along on this sort of mission?

Iruka decided not to think about it for now; he had better things to do; such as keeping Leiko from sneaking off. He knew the particular type of behavior she was showing right now. The body language of little kids was universal, be they ninja or civilian, and Iruka could read it like no other. She had her hands behind her back, looking innocent and obedient while Ibiki and Asuma talked about strategies, but all the while she was slowly shuffling backwards. In a few moments she would reach the corner of the hokage building, artfully disappear around it and then the chase would be on. Iruka wasn't having any of that though. He waited for a moment when her complete attention was on Ibiki and Asuma and stealthily slipped behind her. When she tried to take another little step backwards she bumped into Iruka.

"Going somewhere, Leiko-chan?"

The look she sent him was pure hatred.

She sure seemed to dislike him for some reason. He couldn't fathom why. Sure he'd preached at her that one time, but she had it coming and she knew it. None of his own students seemed to hate him, and he scolded them often enough.

It bothered him.

During all the years he'd been teaching it had never happened that a student truly disliked him. Sure they all had their moments when they'd like nothing better than to chuck a couple of kunai at him… but it never lasted. He'd always been kind of proud of his good relationship with the students actually.

He shook his head. Oh well, a week or two from now, they'd drop the girl of at her parents and he'd never see her again. In the meantime, he had better things to pay attention to, such as his team mates.

He focused back on the jounins in front of him as they discussed their plans, but laid his hand on Leiko's shoulder, gently but firmly keeping her in place.

Apparently Leiko was going to ride a horse and the rest of them would travel on foot. It would be safest that way. They couldn't ride horses themselves, not when there was a real threat of attack, it would take too much attention off of their surroundings and the animals were just too easily spooked.

"One of us should always stay with Iruka-san and the kid, in case they manage the get past the one scouting ahead or guarding the rear." Asuma stated, lazily waving his cigarette around.

Iruka rolled his eyes. "I can scout too you know."

"Of course, Iruka-san" Ibiki said soothingly.

Kakashi wasn't inclined to be that smart though. "You're the designated babysitter Iruka-san. You walk the horsy, we'll scout." He said, smiling.

Iruka's killing urge returned with a vengeance at that demeaning remark and he glared at the annoying jounin.

Kakashi looked back at him, his smile becoming a little less genuine, a little colder. "I'm sure you have a 'vast' experience with A-ranked missions, Iruka-_sensei_. But we jounin just aren't very good with little kids. It'd be best for the girl to have you near, don't you think?" Iruka bit back a retort and glanced at the other members of the team. Asuma and Ibiki looked a little uncomfortable, but didn't seem inclined to disagree with the grey haired jounin.

Iruka felt a blush rise to his face. Somehow he was sure Kakashi knew _exactly _how much experience Iruka had with A-ranked missions. This was so stupid. Why had he even been challenging them in the first place? Not only was Asuma the team leader for this mission, but they were all jounin too. Men with much more experience than he would ever have. They deserved his respect and what did he go and do? Annoy them before they even left the city!

It was Kakashi's fault too though, he decided, there had been no reason for the man to be so rude. 'Walk the horsy…'

The man was right though… And it really wasn't smart to start off on the wrong foot. He and Kakashi already didn't have the best track record after their little 'discussion' about team seven partaking in the chuunin exams. So…

_Yep this was going to hurt_. "Ah, Kakashi-san" Iruka looked the man straight in the eyes. Well…eye. "I'm sorry. You are right, of course. I spoke without thinking, please forgive me, Asuma-san" He smiled disarmingly at the jounin.

Ibiki smiled a reassuring smile at him. Iruka hadn't thought that a face that was so scarred could look that comforting. Torture specialist or not, he decided he liked the man.

Asuma waved his hand around in a motion that probably meant all was forgotten, and Kakashi just… looked amused.

It took all of Iruka's self control to keep smiling. You're not supposed to look _amused_ when someone apologizes!

Luckily, the awkward moment, well awkward for Iruka that is, was interrupted when Kotetsu arrived with the girl's horse and baggage. Asuma seemed to want to get going as soon as possible, so Iruka turned to the girl and asked her _the question_, asked daily by parents and caregivers all over the world. "Do you need to go before we leave?"

She looked at him coldly, like it was an outrage that he'd dared ask such a question, but finally she just nodded.

"Alright Leiko, there are some toilets in the Hokage building, come along."

Reluctantly she gripped his offered hand as he guided her back inside. As soon as she disappeared into one of the stalls, Iruka quietly produced a shadow clone, left it in front of the door and walked outside again. Ignoring the jounin still standing there, he swiftly walked around the corner of the building and concentrated chakra in his hands and feet to climb up the wall, silently waiting above one of the little windows there.

He didn't have to wait long before the window opened and a little pony-tailed head was stuck outside, looking if the coast was clear. He couldn't help but smile. Kids were so predictable.

He jumped at the same time as she did and neatly landed right next to her, dropping his hand on her shoulder again. "All done? Good. Let's get moving then!" He was tempted to flash her Gai's good guy pose, just to annoy her.

Together they walked back to the others and Iruka helped her into the saddle. He grabbed the reigns and without further delays their party walked out of the city gates and left Konoha behind.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

This chapter has not been betaed yet.

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Their journey started off peacefully.

Leiko sat on her horse silently sulking and didn't seem to be planning any mischief for the moment. The others members of their party looked relaxed.

Asuma was happily polluting the forest air, Kakashi had pulled out his ever present book and Ibiki seemed to be trying and apparently succeeding in reading along over the man's shoulder. Funny how Ibiki's face could turn red but his scars would stay white.

The quiet gave Iruka a chance to think and enjoy the first part of their trip. The weather was perfect, the sun shone through the leaves creating beautiful patterns on the forest floor and the light breeze only seemed to accentuate the comfortable warmth of the early afternoon.

He wondered how the Bear country would look. If they made it there, which was never a certainty in the life of a ninja, they would have traveled further than Iruka ever had before.

He knew some things about the country of course, how far it was approximately, major mountain ranges, rivers, climate, that sort of things. Any self respecting ninja had at least a basic knowledge of the other countries. Still, there were always things you couldn't learn from a book, like how the air would smell. He'd never be able to explain it to anyone, but other countries just 'felt' different to Iruka.

Of course the looming threat of attack by enemy ninja's sucked a little of the joy out of the experience, but still…

When they were about an hour out of the city gates Asuma and Kakashi disappeared, leaving him with Ibiki and Leiko. He assumed the other two ninja were close by but he didn't hear anything that could pinpoint their position. Iruka looked at Ibiki thoughtfully, could he ask? He couldn't control his curiosity any longer. "This is an unusual mission for you, isn't it, Ibiki-san?"

Ibiki gave him a long look.

Just when Iruka was about to apologize for the intrusive question, the huge man smiled at him. "It's the Godaime's way of sending me on a paid vacation."

Iruka nodded silently even though it didn't really make sense to him. As far as he knew the chance of an attack during this mission was pretty high. Not his idea of a vacation, not even for a jounin.

They walked in a comfortable silence for a while until Ibiki asked him how his current batch of students was doing. Iruka gave a brief answer, not wanting to bore the man, but Ibiki spurred him on by asking for details. In the end they discussed Iruka's students and their antics for almost an hour and a half, before Iruka decided that Leiko might want a little break.

He suggested to Ibiki to have some lunch. Ibiki nodded and gave a soft whistle, alerting the other jounin to their plans. Iruka reached out to help Leiko off of the horse, but she quickly swung her leg over and jumped down, landing on Iruka's exposed toes. It didn't hurt, she was just a small girl after all, but it had clearly been intentional and that bothered him.

He decided to pretend he hadn't noticed, maybe she was just trying to get attention in a bad way and she'd stop if he didn't give her the attention she wanted. He smiled cheerfully at the little brown haired girl. "You should walk around a little Leiko-chan, it will loosen your muscles so you won't get sore."

Leiko promptly sat down.

Iruka's smile became a little strained at that point. "Do you want a sandwich?"

"I'm not hungry."

Alright, that was it. Standing up a little straighter he gave her his best strict 'if you don't listen to your teacher you're going to be very sorry' look.

"Leiko-chan, you'll be hungry later on if you don't eat something now, and you're going to be sore if you don't walk around a little. The only one you're hurting with this behavior is yourself."

For a few tense moments she tried to stare him down, but in the end an eight year old just wasn't a match for a grown up.

"Fine" She stood up and started walking around and when he handed her a sandwich she took it without further comment, even though she looked at it like it was the most disgusting thing she'd ever seen.

He had to hide his smile when after the first bite she turned her back on him and devoured the thing within a minute. He gave her another one, careful to keep his face completely neutral. It wouldn't do to get her upset again.

They didn't stay very long. After their lunch break Ibiki raised his hand in goodbye and disappeared. Seconds later Asuma dropped out of a tree right in front of them. He grinned around his cigarette in greeting.

"Maa Iruka-sensei, did you go to Anko's birthday party?" He mumbled out of the blue as he fell in to step beside him.

Iruka shook his head. He didn't like Anko very much, there was something wrong with her. He always felt like he couldn't really trust her, although he had no idea why. It was just a feeling.

Asuma wasted no time in telling him what he'd missed.

Apparently Kurenai got very creative with her bindings when she'd had a few cups of sake. Luckily Asuma didn't go into detail or else Iruka would have had to smack him for telling dirty stories in front of little kids.

After Asuma stopped gushing about Kurenai they made pleasant small talk. Asuma and he both tried a few times to involve Leiko in some conversation but she ignored every attempt and finally they just gave up. Eventually Asuma mumbled a 'see you later' around his cigarette, and walked off of the path. At around the same time Kakashi appeared and silently took his place beside Iruka, nose buried in his book. Unlike the others Kakashi didn't seem at all inclined to talk. The silence felt uncomfortable to Iruka.

_Would it hurt the man to be polite for once!_

Iruka decided to have one more go at getting Leiko to open up a little.

"Are you looking forward to seeing your parents again, Leiko-chan?" he asked softly.

"Leave me alone!" Her sudden scream startled the birds from the trees.

Well, if there were enemy ninja around and they hadn't known their location before…they sure did now.

"Leiko, be quiet! You can't make so much noise, it's dangerous!" he hissed at her.

"Bit late now, Iruka-sensei." Kakashi sounded amused.

Iruka glared at him then turned back to Leiko.

"Leiko-chan, we're not inside the village anymore. It can be dangerous out here and you need to be quiet and do as we say, okay? It's for your own safety. Soon you'll be back with your mom and dad and you can do whatever you want." _They deserve it for raising a little monster like you. _

She pouted, a bit startled by the fact that she might be in danger. "But you, scarface and stinky were talking all the time."

He ignored Kakashi's snort behind him. "There's a difference between talking and shouting at the top of your lungs, just try to be a little quiet all right? It's okay to talk; you just can't be very loud."

They resumed their trip in complete silence. He wished Ibiki would trade places with Kakashi again. Something about the man just made him nervous and edgy and defensive and it wasn't a pleasant feeling at all. And yet, there was something about the man that made Iruka want to keep looking at him.

They kept going the entire day, only stopping for short breaks, and when Leiko began to fall asleep on the horse, Iruka lifted her of and carried her further on his back. Finally Asuma gave the sign that they were going to stop for the night.

As the jounin quickly and efficiently checked the perimeters and set up traps for defense, Iruka put Leiko down on his bed roll and began to set up a small tent for her to sleep in.

It was finished quickly. When he heard a soft rustle behind him he turned to check out the source. Just in time to see Leiko sneaking towards the horse. He watched in grim amusement as she climbed it and attempted to get it to move.

"Stupid animal" she hissed, why won't you move!"

"What are you doing Leiko-chan?"

Startled she looked behind her. Realizing she was caught she gave him an angry look.

"I'm not going home!"

"Why not Leiko-chan?" He was surprised at her answer. If anything he'd expected her to say that she was going home _right now. _

"Because I don't want to!"

"Leiko, stop shouting please. Look, I'm sorry you didn't want to go yet, but your parents want you home with them, and we are taking you there whether you like it or not. I'm sure they missed you very much."

"Fine!" She yelled, jumping of the horse. "I'll just run away when I get there." Having said that, or rather screamed that, she crawled into her little tent.

Later that evening as they sat around their camp Iruka could hear little sniffling sounds coming from the tent. It was frustrating because he was sure she wouldn't accept any comfort from him. He knew her type so well; he'd seen many of them in the academy, the ones that locked themselves away when they were hurt and wouldn't allow anyone to comfort them. People like Neji and Sasuke. Too proud for their own good.

Suddenly he had an idea. She wouldn't accept any comfort from him, but there was another option, if he could get Kakashi to lend a hand. He hated having to ask the man for a favor but…he hated the quiet crying in the tent more.

Quietly he walked over to the jounin and sat down next to him.

"Kakashi-san" he started hesitantly, "how much energy does it take you to summon one of your dogs?"

Kakashi looked at him blankly. "Why do you want to know?"

Iruka squirmed a little; maybe he was being far too presumptuous. Here he was asking a jounin to perform a summoning technique only to cheer up an eight year old having a temper tantrum. He had to ask though, the girl might be a total brat, but she was only a child, far away from her family and very upset.

"I thought… Well, I hoped that" Iruka decided to start over again. "I wanted to ask if maybe"

Kakashi reached for his Icha Icha Paradise again.

Iruka took a deep breath and spouted out his question on the exhale.

"I wanted to ask you if you could summon one of your dogs to cheer op Leiko-chan."

Kakashi send him another unreadable look.

"I mean, she's really upset and she'll probably have trouble sleeping tonight and that will only make her more cranky in the morning, and she's really not such a bad kid, she just has some issues and-"

Kakashi interrupted him. "Which one?"

"Eh?"

"Which dog do you want?"

"Ummm, I don't know your dogs. Except for Pakkun. Ummm do you have dogs that are cuter? Little girls like cute things."

"You don't like Pakkun?"

Iruka thought about the mutt. That dog was ugly, there was no denying it.

"Of course I like him! Pakkun is great and a very good nin-dog!"

"Hnnn"

Kakashi seemed to be thinking about his request, so Iruka kept his mouth shut for the moment.

"Please wait here a moment, Iruka-sensei."

Iruka watched curiously as Kakashi walked to the other side of the little clearing they were in. The jounin made a few hand seals and put his hands to the ground. Suddenly Pakkun appeared. Kakashi squatted in front of the little dog and they seemed to be having a conversation. He saw Pakkun looking first at him and then at the little tent. He also thought he heard Pakkun say the words 'still single' but he couldn't make out what they were talking about. Finally they seemed to have come to an agreement. Pakkun disappeared.

Damn, Iruka thought, he isn't going to do it. Kakashi remained where he was however, so Iruka waited as the man had asked him. About five minutes later Kakashi made the hand seals again and this time two dogs appeared. One was Pakkun. The other was the fluffiest dog Iruka had ever seen. It didn't look like a dog; it looked like a little bear. Pakkun was talking to it, pointing at the little tent and Iruka. The little bear turned his head to look at Iruka and Iruka could swear that the animal grinned at him. He wondered how a little fluffy bear-dog with a row of sparkly white teeth could look so lecherous. He shook his head; he must have seen it wrong.

Finally the fluff-ball nodded and walked off and into the little tent while Kakashi and Pakkun walked back to Iruka.

"Iruka-san" Pakkun nodded at Iruka.

Iruka smiled back at him. "Thank you for helping out Pakkun."

"Let's see if it works first, Iruka-san" Kakashi said softly.

The three of them stayed silent for a while trying to hear any sounds coming from the tent.

Finally they heard it. A little giggle.

Pakkun looked triumphantly at Kakashi. "You owe me Hatake."

Kakashi rolled his eyes, or one of them at least. Iruka couldn't be sure about the other one. Was it possible to roll one eye? He suppressed the urge to try it out.

"What do you want?" The jounin asked the mutt sitting in front of him.

"I'll think of something later."

Kakashi nodded.

"Alright, I think I'll stick around for a while. Gives me a chance to catch up with Iruka-san here. You don't mind do you, Iruka-san?"

Iruka shook his head and smiled at the dog. He really did like Pakkun.

Kakashi was already reaching for his book again. Impulsively, Iruka reached out and laid his hand on the man's shoulder. "Thank you Kakashi-san"

Kakashi gave him one of his one eyed smiles. "No problem."

Maybe Kakashi wasn't so bad, Iruka thought as he turned back to Pakkun, a little socially inept maybe… but not so bad.


	4. Chapter 4

Early the next morning Iruka went to wake Leiko. When he stuck his head into the little tent he smiled. Leiko was still sleeping, arms curled tightly around the fluffy little dog. Fluffy himself was awake though and gave Iruka a suffering look. "Save me."

Iruka sniggered and then gently touched Leiko's shoulder. "Leiko-chan, wake up. It's time to get up kiddo."

Sleepily she pulled the dog even closer to her chest and buried her nose in its fur. "No. Wanna sleep."

"It's almost time to go, Leiko-chan. I have breakfast for you."

Reluctantly she sat up, rubbed her eyes and then stared at him crankily. He got the hint and pulled back out of the tent to give her some time to fully wake up. Inside he heard quiet whispers. A short time later Leiko and the bear-doggy crawled out of the tent. She gave the dog a last hug and then sadly watched as it walked towards where Kakashi and Pakkun were sitting. When she turned back to him, he guided her to their small fire and gave her some bread and tea.

When she was comfortably settled he walked back over to Kakashi and the dogs. Pakkun turned to him. "We'll be leaving now, Iruka-sensei. Maybe we can chat again sometime."

"I'd enjoy that Pakkun. And thank you both, I really appreciated the help."

"No problem, Iruka-sensei. Our pleasure." The fluff ball answered, his eyes slowly traveling the length of Iruka's body. Before Iruka could begin to feel disturbed by the focused attention he was getting from another species Kakashi slapped his hands together and the dogs disappeared."

Leiko was well behaved that morning. Whatever it was the little dog had said to her, it had sure been effective. She was by no means cheerful, but she obeyed their commands and didn't try to escape once, which Iruka thought was a huge improvement. However he did noticed that as the day wore on boredom began to take its toll on the kid, so he started making up games for her. At first of course she refused to play, so he played by himself, garnering amused looks from his other companions.

It wasn't everyday they saw a grown up ninja play silly games. By himself. Out loud.

After embarrassing himself for over an hour he finally got lucky when the girl broke down and told him the word he'd pretended to be looking for. Some praise and encouragement later, she was playing too, gradually getting more eager and slowly forgetting the fact that she didn't like Iruka.

"Grasshopper"

"Lizard"

"Bird"

"Cat"

"Dog maybe?"

"My uncle"

"Your uncle eats cats?"

"No, he eats dogs."

_Yuck_ "Oh, well this game is finished then. I don't know any animal that would eat your uncle."

"I do, the wild dogs tried to eat my uncle. I think they did it because he ate their domesticatered relative."

"Oh." Iruka had no idea how to respond to that. "How about another game?"

She nodded. "I spy with my little eye, something….. brown."

And so it went on.

At one point she tried to get Kakashi to play. "Old guy, do you want to play?"

Kakashi turned another page of his book and kept reading. "No, thank you."

Leiko looked a little disappointed. Iruka had the feeling that she'd taken a liking to Kakashi after the dog visit. He decided to try something. Falling back a little until he was walking next to the horse, he took a pencil and a piece of paper from his pocket and scribbled down a few words. Quietly he pushed the note into Leiko's hand and went back to walk next to Kakashi.

A few moments later Leiko spoke up.

"Old man! I challenge you! You are my intern- eternal rival! I'm better than you at rock, paper, scissors because I'm still in my…" There was a slight pause as she obviously tried to decipher the words on the paper. "Springtime of youth!"

During Leiko's little speech Iruka had kept his eyes firmly locked on the road in front of them but when he heard a loud snort coming from a tree somewhere to his left his resolve broke and he couldn't help but take a quick peek at the jounin next to him. Kakashi gave him a fixed look that promised revenge at some time in the future. _Amazing how much can be expressed with just one eye._

"What?" Iruka tried to sound innocent. "It works for Gai-san."

After one more withering look at Iruka, Kakashi snapped his book shut and turned to Leiko. "Challenge accepted. Best out of ten."

It became best out of twenty and Kakashi lost.

The following days all followed the same pattern. They would start early, and keep going throughout the day with short stops to let Leiko rest. Sometimes she would walk with them for a while and when she got too tired to ride Iruka carried her. When Leiko got bored they played games. There was little left of her hostility by then.

Then, on the ninth day of travel, everything went wrong.

It started out with Asuma telling Leiko about their progress. They were making good time he told her and then, either not understanding or ignoring Iruka's frantic hints for him to shut up, he went on. If all went well, they were going to reach the village in two days and she'd be back with her parents.

She hadn't gone back to brooding, as Iruka had feared she would, but he'd seen something in her eyes, a calculating look that he didn't trust. He was going to have to watch for escape attempts again.

He didn't have much time to worry about it though. As he and Ibiki were walking along Kakashi suddenly appeared next to Ibiki. There was a conversation that Iruka couldn't follow and soon after Kakashi disappeared into thin air.

Ibiki started walking closer to Iruka. "We are being followed. They are approaching from the south, fast. They're with many. Kakashi scouted ahead, the forest to the north of here appears empty. You'll take Leiko in there, find a good hiding spot and wait."

Iruka nodded. They couldn't go too far. There might be enemies lying in wait for them further on. He and Leiko needed to be just outside of the range of battle but not far enough to run into an ambush.

They needed to go. But before they did…. He quickly formed the seals with his hands. "Kage bunshin no jutsu!"

Leiko looked on with huge eyes as there were suddenly three Iruka's standing in the clearing.

Ibiki blinked. "You've been keeping secrets, Iruka-sensei."

Iruka blushed. He knew he shouldn't know this technique; it had been on a forbidden scroll after all. But a few months ago when he'd gotten back from a mission rather heavily injured, Naruto had decided that Iruka should learn it, and it was very difficult to say no to Naruto when the young man had made his mind up.

"I'll explain later, Ibiki-san."

One of his clones performed Henge and turned into a perfect little copy of Leiko. Iruka took Leiko on his back and when he jumped up into the trees with her, his clones took their place, walking on as if nothing had happened.

As soon as he was far enough away from the would-be battlefield Iruka started looking for a hiding place. On the ground would be better than in a tree he decided. If other ninja were coming they'd probably travel through the canopy and besides that, it would be too dangerous if for some reason he'd have to let go of Leiko. Finally he spotted a passable place. Next to a huge oak tree some bushes were growing. Underneath them there was a slight space, enough for him and the kid to hide. They would be almost impossible to spot from above and the enemy needed to have just the right angle to spot them if they were on the ground. With any luck they'd never get that far.

He lowered Leiko to the ground and crawled backwards into the hole, pulling her with him. "Leiko, I need you to be very, very quiet, okay? There are dangerous men out there and they want to hurt us."

Leiko nodded fearfully.

It seemed to take ages before they heard anything, and when they did he quickly covered Leiko's ears. Too late though, she'd already heard the screams of dying men.

The sounds of fighting went on for a long time, but thankfully they didn't seem to be getting any closer.

His relief was short lived though. Suddenly he heard the dull thud of something small hitting the forest floor. Looking out of the opening he saw a stone with a note tied to it about 15 yards away. An explosive tag!

He curled around Leiko, covering as much of her body as he could. Within seconds there was a loud explosion. Earth rained down on them and he put his hand over Leiko's mouth to smother her scream. All around them similar explosions took place. The enemy was trying to either kill them or make them leave their hiding place.

The sounds of fighting were coming closer and closer to where they were, and judging from the many screams, Iruka was relatively sure that Kakashi, Ibiki and Asuma had dealt with the group that was coming from behind them and were now making their way towards Iruka and Leiko. They just needed to stay hidden a little longer and all would be well.

Right at that moment one of those exploding rocks landed in the bushes they were hiding in. He had only seconds to deal with it. Turning around in the little space as quickly as he could he grabbed the thing and threw. Hindered by the branches he couldn't throw it very far. Ten yards away from them it exploded.

He didn't have time to turn around before it did and with a scream Leiko darted away from him and the protection of their hiding place.

Cursing soundlessly he crawled out of the hole and sprinted after her. He saw something flash out of the corner of his eye. They'd been spotted.

He felt the first dart pierce his skin seconds after he left the protection of their hiding place. A moment later the second dart hit him. With a burst of speed he grabbed Leiko and they rolled, coming to a stop behind another of those large trees. He could almost kiss them for the shelter they provided.

He reached for his shoulder and pulled out the first dart. It had a foul smell to it. A smell he knew by heart.

There wasn't much time.

He reached for the inside of his jacket, muscles starting to cramp so badly his arm could barely obey his brain. The shaking of his hand made it difficult to grab the little blue vial in his pocket and he wasted precious seconds. It was getting harder to breathe.

When he finally got hold of it, it was too late. His arm wouldn't move anymore. He was going to die. A burst of mind numbing terror shot through him. He wasn't ready to die.

He'd always thought that when the time came for him, he would calmly accept his fate knowing that he'd died in service of his country. But now it was actually happening he found that he couldn't care less about that. He didn't want to die.

All of a sudden the life he'd had so far seemed so empty, like there'd been nothing but his students. He loved them of course but he wished he'd had something in his life besides them.

Now he lay paralyzed he finally realized that there were so many things he'd meant to do and now he'd never have the chance.

He couldn't even turn his head to check on the girl. He'd failed. Within moments the enemy would reach her. She was too young to die.

Suddenly he felt little fingers pry the life-saving vial from his hand. Above him Leiko's tear streaked face appeared, she pushed the little glass tube between his lips and poured the foul tasting concoction down his throat. It took all he had just to swallow.

Almost immediately he could feel the stress on his heart and lungs receding and after a few moments he could move his limbs again. His entire body felt sore and misused and he was nauseous as hell, but at least he was alive. As soon as he could he rolled to his knees grabbed Leiko's hand and crawled into another bush. It wasn't as good as the first one, but everything was better than sitting there in plain sight. It was a miracle they hadn't been found yet, but that was no reason to make it any easier for them.

For what seemed like forever, but in reality probably was only five minutes or so, everything was silent around them. Then he heard it, someone was approaching, it didn't sound like one person, it didn't sound like a group either. With his still addled mind he just couldn't figure out what was coming their way. Pushing Leiko behind him he grabbed for a kunai and got ready to fight. He needed to defend the kid, and this time he wouldn't fail.

He and Leiko were both holding their breath as whatever it was came closer and closer. He sat motionless, ready to strike. It stopped close to where they were. Now was the time.

"Under there"

Pakkun! Never in his life had Iruka been happier to hear a familiar voice.

With a sigh he let himself go slack, closing his eyes for a second.

The next moment Kakashi was squatting in front of the bush asking if they were alright and Leiko started crying hysterically. Back to work, he thought wearily.

He nodded to Kakashi and then hugged Leiko close to him. "Shush, it's all over now. We're okay."

It took a while but he finally managed to calm her down and together they stiffly crawled into the open. When he checked her over he was glad to find that Leiko had nothing more serious than a few scratches from crawling through the bushes.

"We're fine" He said to Kakashi. "Where are Asuma and Ibiki?"

"Cleaning up. You're bleeding by the way." Kakashi reached up and touched the side of his head, his fingers were stained red when he pulled back. "We'll take care of it after we meet up with the others."

Pakkun, who'd been quiet until then, suddenly walked forward and sniffed Kakashi's bloody fingertips. He frowned and walked closer to Iruka, sniffing around him. Apparently satisfied with what he'd found he turned back to Kakashi.

"P16, two doses probably, or one big one."

Kakashi frowned. "Antidote?"

"One, standard issue."

Kakashi gave Iruka an exasperated look. "You didn't think to mention that little fact?"

Iruka just shrugged. He was feeling a little too miserable right now to care what Kakashi thought about him.

"Come on, you need another dose of A16."

Together the three of them started back to the road, Iruka stumbling along painfully until Kakashi wrapped an arm around him.

Every muscle in his body hurt, his head was throbbing and he was nauseas as hell, but they were all alive, relatively unharmed and Kakashi's warm arm around him felt better than it should under these circumstances. All in all, Iruka thought, he'd had worse days.

For everyone who reviewed:

THANK YOU! You made me write faster.


	5. Chapter 5

When they reached the road again Kakashi pushed him down to sit on the ground and started rifling through his pack. He finally fished out a blue vial and pushed it into Iruka's hands. "Drink."

Iruka looked at the blue fluid inside and felt his stomach turn. "Do I have to?" He said, and then blushed because of how whiny he sounded. "I mean, I'm very nauseas and I don't think it'll stay down."

"You only need to keep it down for a few minutes. The active ingredient enters you bloodstream very fast, Iruka-sensei. Now drink it, the poison is still damaging your muscles."

He knew all that. Of course he knew all that, but that didn't make the prospect of drinking the vile liquid any more pleasant.

He took a few deep breaths, made sure not to breathe through his nose to avoid the revolting smell that accompanied the horrid taste, and then he threw his head back and emptied the vial, swallowing as fast as he could.

He got most of it down before the taste registered, and then everything came out again.

Or it would have, if it had somewhere to get out.

Kakashi had his hand slapped tightly over Iruka's mouth, pinching his nose closed at the same time. "Swallow."

Iruka did his best to obey the command, the feeling of chocking on his own vomit bringing involuntary tears to his eyes.

When the worst was over, Kakashi released Iruka's nose but kept his hand over his mouth, the fingers of his other hand gently rubbing the back of Iruka's neck. It had a very soothing effect.

When the second wave of nausea hit Kakashi just pulled him forward and got his hair out of the way. As Iruka puked his guts out he heard Kakashi mumble. "It's okay. Most of it should have been absorbed by now." Iruka really couldn't care less one way or the other.

When the heaving finally stopped Iruka felt a lot better. Asuma walked over and handed him a bottle of water, which he gladly used to rinse his mouth. He was afraid to move too much in case the nausea would come back, so he just sat there, faintly aware of Asuma and Kakashi having a conversation over his head.

"P16"

"Damn it. How much?"

"Two. One antidote right away. The other just now."

"Will he be able to travel?"

At that point Iruka had enough of being talked about. "I'll be fine!" The hoarse croaking sound that left his mouth sounded a lot less convincing than he'd planned it to though.

"You're going to have to walk, Iruka-sensei, the horse didn't make it." Asuma said softly.

_Oh._ Leiko was going to be upset about that.

Carefully Iruka pushed himself upright and then, grabbing Kakashi's jacket, he pulled himself up.

_Ow_. His legs hurt like hell.

"We can't stay at this place tonight, Iruka-san. We'll need to keep going."

Iruka nodded, he'd figured that too. The ruckus of the fight was bound to have attracted some attention. He would just have to ignore the pain.

Asuma turned as Ibiki approached them. "Did you get something out of them?"

Ibiki nodded and then meaningfully turned his eyes to Iruka. Asuma followed his gaze, nodded shortly and walked away. Ibiki followed him.

Oh great, so this information wasn't meant for chuunin ears. As much as he understood it, he still hated when that happened.

Suddenly the fact occurred to him that he was leaning rather heavily on Kakashi, and was probably keeping the man from walking over to the other jounin. With a blush he removed himself from the man, standing, albeit wobbly, on his own.

Instead of walking away the jounin turned around to face him. The intent look in the man's eye made Iruka a little nervous and when Kakashi's hand suddenly moved to Iruka's face he automatically pulled back a little, nearly falling on his ass in the progress. Kakashi's hand grabbing his elbow was the only thing that kept him from loosing his balance.

"It stopped bleeding. Needs to be cleaned."

For a second Iruka didn't know what Kakashi was talking about. Then he remembered the man's earlier comment. He hadn't been aware of the small cut on the side of his face until the jounin had mentioned it. Must have been when he'd thrown the explosive tag away. What with Leiko running away and all he hadn't really paid attention to shielding his face from flying bits of earth and rock.

Kakashi gently pulled him towards a tree and sat him down with his back against it. He really should be protesting more, Iruka thought. This was no way to convince these men that he was a capable ninja. Getting hurt without even fighting and then letting them fuss over him like he was a kid. So he'd gotten a little poisoned… That was no reason to act like he was weak. Some jounin got poisoned so often they became practically immune, he was sure _they_ didn't puke all over the place.

As Kakashi was riffling through his pack again, Iruka looked around for Leiko.

She was sitting on the ground bemusedly, Pakkun on her lap. The pug was patiently letting himself be petted.

"Leiko, would you come here for a moment?"

She looked at him for a moment with a look he couldn't decipher, and then she pushed Pakkun off, scrambled up and ran.

_Damn it. _He used Kakashi's shoulder to push himself up and as quickly as he could he stumbled after her. "Leiko, stop! Please."

Thankfully she didn't go far before stopping. He really wasn't up to chasing a kid right now. "Leiko, what's wrong?" He said, panting slightly in pain.

She mumbled something.

"I'm sorry Leiko-chan, I didn't hear you."

"It's all my fault."

Iruka was a little confused. Did she mean the attack? "What is?"

"You. If I didn't run away, you wouldn't be sick."

_Oh_. "Leiko-chan, that wasn't your fault! You saved my life. You were great. Come on, I'd like it very much if you came to sit with me for a while okay?"

She looked at him, obviously still feeling guilty.

"It's okay, I'm fine, really. Come on." He grabbed her hand and as they walked back to where Iruka had been sitting he tried his best to look as if he was perfectly fine.

Kakashi looked annoyed. "Sit."

Quickly and efficiently the jounin cleaned the cut on Iruka's head. When he was finished he stood. "Stay here." He said, before turning towards Asuma and Ibiki.

"Drink, swallow, sit, stay…" Iruka mumbled when Kakashi was out of earshot. "I'm not one of your dogs you know. No offence Pakkun."

"None taken." The little pug looked amused. "He gets a little short with people when he's worried."

Worried? Iruka frowned. "Do they expect another attack?"

He could swear the dog rolled his eyes at him. "No Iruka-sensei. I'm pretty sure that's not what he's worried about."

What else was there?

Leiko interrupted his musings. "Where is Horse?"

Iruka thought for a few seconds about what he should say. He normally believed that it was in the best interest of kids to be told the truth, but what would be the use in this case? Leiko's day had been miserable enough. A little lie couldn't hurt.

"I'm sorry Leiko, Horse was startled by all the noise and he ran away. Don't worry though, he knows the way home." Iruka smiled brightly at her.

"Oh, ok. Good." There was a slight pause. "Do you want to play?"

"Sure." Iruka said, anything to keep the girls mind off what had happened the last half an hour.

Pakkun decided to join in and together the three of them played one of their silly word games, until Asuma decided they were ready to leave.

The following hours were some of the most unpleasant Iruka had ever had. The pain in his muscles had lessened to what one would feel the day after a monstrous workout, painful, but not so much that he was unable to run. What bothered him more was the nausea that had returned with a vengeance when he started moving again and the pounding headache. You'd think that with a legendary medic Nin as their hokage, they'd be able to make an antidote that wasn't almost as bad as the poison itself. Thankfully, Ibiki had taken the task of carrying Leiko. He didn't think he would have managed that, even for a little while.

Iruka could have kissed Asuma when he finally decided to stop.

Ever since they had started on this journey the three jounin had been content to let Iruka deal with anything Leiko related. He fed her, put her to bed, got her ready to leave, and entertained her. He did everything.

Not tonight though.

As soon as they stopped Asuma started a fire, cleared a place close to it and insisted that Iruka lay down and rest. He'd protested of course, but Asuma was immovable and Iruka gave in. If he was honest with himself he had to admit that he'd like nothing better than to lie down and stop torturing himself.

Pakkun lay down close to him and they softly chatted. Iruka didn't realize he'd fallen asleep until he woke up, his arm curled around the warm little body next to him. His eyes drifted lazily around the clearing, stopping on the lone figure on the other side of the fire. Kakashi was looking right back at him. Iruka blushed, suddenly feeling foolish for cuddling Pakkun as if the nin-dog was some kind of stuffed animal. Next to him Pakkun yawned and pressed a little closer. Iruka looked down at him, breaking the eye contact with Kakashi.

"You should go back to sleep, Iruka-sensei." The jounin across from him spoke softly. "You have a few more hours before dawn."

He looked back at the masked jounin in front of him. The man was reading again. What was underneath that mask? What was the man hiding? He was still thinking about it when he fell asleep.

Everyone who reviewed: thanks so much! I adore every little comment.


	6. Chapter 6

When Iruka woke up again Kakashi and Pakkun were nowhere in sight. He felt vaguely grateful for not having to face either of them. He still felt a little embarrassed about sleeping with the nin-dog like he had.

Iruka felt a lot better. His muscles still hurt a bit, but the nausea and the headache were gone. He did some stretches to loosen up a little, ignoring his protesting muscles, and then went to get Leiko ready. A short time later they were on the move again.

Ibiki, Asuma and Kakashi traded Leiko around during the day, and Iruka was glad for it, he needed a little more time to recover before he was up to carrying the kid around again.

That evening they ran into the first guards of the Star village.

"Halt." A stern voice sounded from somewhere close by. "Stay where you are."

Having expected this, they calmly waited while the guards surrounded them until finally the leader stepped onto the road and asked them their business.

Asuma handed the man a scroll and after a few moments the man nodded and smiled.

They were escorted into the village and a messenger was sent ahead to inform Leiko's parents of their daughters safe return. Leiko didn't notice any of this, having fallen asleep on Kakashi's back some time ago.

They were guided through a village that was much like Konoha, if a lot smaller. Finally they were brought to a huge mansion. A couple was waiting in the doorway.

Iruka stared.

The man in the door opening stared back at him.

Iruka knew that everyone on this earth had a doppelganger; but he'd never thought he'd actually be meeting his. The man standing in front of him was his mirror image. The same slight frame, the same dark brown hair and tanned skin… The guy was obviously quite a few years older, but apart from Iruka's scar, that was the only thing setting them apart. It was like looking at his future self.

Finally he understood why Leiko had been hanging around the school in Konoha. She hadn't been fascinated by the students as he'd thought she was. She'd been fascinated by Iruka himself.

Finally the man tore his eyes away from Iruka and approached Kakashi. Gently he shook his daughter awake.

"Daddy!"

After the comments Leiko had made about not wanting to go home, Iruka hadn't expected this joyful reaction from the girl.

He looked at the woman that was still standing in the doorway. She was young, too young to be Leiko's mother, her older sister maybe?

When Leiko and her dad finally separated, the little girl dragged her father towards Iruka. "Look dad! This is Iruka-sensei. We played games together and I saved his live."

Yes, Iruka thought amusedly, no need to mention you being rude, obnoxious and disobedient. He smiled at the man and bowed. "It's an honor to meet you, sir."

"Likewise." The man turned towards his daughter again. "Leiko-chan, why don't you introduce this nice man to your mother? I need to have a chat with the rest of your companions."

Iruka immediately saw the change come over the little girl in front of him. Her smile became colder, less genuine, and he saw a stubborn look in her eyes.

"Alright." She said, grabbing Iruka's arm and pulling him away from the rest of the group and the mansion.

Iruka willingly followed her, aware of the fact that for some reason the man wanted to speak to Asuma, Ibiki and Kakashi without his presence.

"Leiko, where are you going?" Iruka heard the man behind him call suddenly. He sounded confused.

"To the graveyard! You wanted him to meet mom, didn't you?"

"Leiko! That's not what I meant, young lady, and you know it!" The man sounded more tired than angry. "Now introduce him to Nozomi-san!"

So Leiko's mother had died…Poor girl, Iruka knew her pain so well. He wondered how long ago it had happened.

With a face more hostile than the one she had when she first met Iruka, Leiko marched the both of them to the young woman still standing in the doorway. "Nozomi-san, this is Iruka-sensei. Iruka-sensei, this is my dad's girlfriend." The contempt was dripping from Leiko's voice.

The young woman bowed and gave him an apologetic smile. "It's an honor to meet you sir, thank you for helping to bring Leiko-chan back home safely." Then she turned to Leiko. "It's good to finally see you again, Leiko-chan."

"I was hoping you'd be gone by now." With those words Leiko let go of Iruka and stormed into the house.

"I'm sorry, Iruka-san, Leiko-chan is still coping with her mother's death. Please come in. I've made tea."

Iruka followed the woman into the huge, luxuriously furnished house. She guided him into a beautiful room, decorated in earth tones, and they sat down at a low table.

He studied the woman as she poured him a cup of tea. Before he could ask the questions that were plaguing him, the girl started talking.

"Leiko's mother died three years ago. A little over a year after she died I met Leiko's father and we fell in love. Leiko is convinced I'm trying to replace her mother, even though I'm not. I just want to be her friend, but she won't let me in." She looked at Iruka and smiled faintly. "You look a lot like my husband."

For a moment Iruka was confused. "Husband?"

"We married a year ago. Leiko was against it, as you can imagine. She was so difficult that Seiichi-san decided to send her along with the group of children that would visit Konoha. I told him not to do it. I told him she was too young, but he wouldn't listen. He thought it would do her good. In this house she is constantly reminded of her mother, and he thought that maybe if she had a change of scenery she could move on."

Iruka nodded politely, but inside he was fuming. How could that man just send his kid away like that? All she probably needed was a little attention from her father, but no! He was to busy working on his career to care for his own kid. It wouldn't surprise Iruka one bit if the only reason that he'd married the young woman in front of him was to have somebody to dump Leiko on.

He tried not to let his disapproval show on his face. Nozomi wasn't to blame for Leiko's situation.

While the both of them were drinking their tea, he told the young woman about the trip they'd had. Not sure how much she was allowed to know, he stuck to the things that were save to tell: about Leiko's attempted escapes and the games they'd played when the girl had finally loosened up.

After a while Leiko's father and the rest of Iruka's team came in. Asuma addressed him. "We'll be moving on now, Iruka-san."

Iruka nodded and thanked Nozomi. He was tempted to completely ignore Seiichi if it wasn't for one thing. "Do you know where Leiko-chan is? I would like to say goodbye."

As if she'd been waiting for it, and she probably was, Leiko walked around a corner and into the room. In front of Iruka she hesitated for a second but then she wrapped her arms around him and hugged. He hugged her back and softly whispered into her ear. "Be nice to Nozomi-chan okay? She just wants to be your friend. And if you're ever in Konoha again, come visit me."

Leiko nodded. Iruka hoped that meant she'd consider being nice to Nozomi, but he very much doubted it. Maybe one day he'd know, if she'd really come to visit him. He felt bad leaving the brat here. Maybe she really would try to run away. Or maybe everything would turn out alright. Either way, it wasn't his place to try and fix this family; they needed to do that on their own.

When all goodbyes were said, they left the house, Iruka waving at Leiko one last time.

Outside it was very dark by now, but the three jounin walked as if they knew exactly where they were going. After a few minutes Asuma spoke up. "Keep going, we'll meet up later." The words had barely left his mouth when he and Ibiki disappeared.

Iruka wondered what was going on, he couldn't sense any enemies close by, but why else would the two jounin suddenly go off on their own?

Kakashi didn't seem troubled at all though, if anything the man looked a little bored. Iruka decided not to worry about it anymore. By now he knew that there were things about this mission that he didn't know. He'd just have to trust that the jounin knew what they were doing.

Kakashi walked on until they reached a large house, there he stopped and knocked.

Before Iruka could ask what they were doing there, a Star shinobi opened the door and greeted them as if he'd expected them. They were ushered inside and guided through a hallway with numerous numbered doors. They stopped in front of number 16 and the Star ninja gave Kakashi a set of keys and walked away. Inside the room there were four simple beds.

Iruka turned to the masked jounin. "Kakashi-san, what are we doing here?"

Kakashi smiled his one-eyed smile. "We will be staying here for a few days so you can recover, Iruka-sensei."

"Recover? But I don't need to recover. I'm fine!"

"You were poisoned, Iruka-sensei. Of course you need to recover. The hokage will understand. She won't blame you for prolonging our stay a little."

"But I'm fine, my muscles are hardly sore anymore!"

"Nonsense."

"But I'm fine!"

"It's OK, Iruka-sensei, we don't mind."

"I'm telling you, I'm fine!" Did he need to kick the jounins ass before the man would believe him?

There was a slightly devious glint in Kakashi's eye. "Alright prove it."

"Prove it!" Why would he need to prove it? What were they, twelve year olds?

"Yes, prove it. Let's have a little spar shall we?" without waiting for an answer Kakashi gave a low kick, swiping Iruka's legs out from under him and dropping him on his bum none too gently.

Iruka couldn't let that go unpunished. He took a leap, caught Kakashi round his mid-section and they went down together.

They struggled. Fiercely. Both of them were trying to get the upper hand, but too close to each other for most of their moves to be effective. When Iruka tried to knee Kakashi in the groin and came a little too close for comfort, the jounin twisted Iruka's hand viciously.

Iruka had to roll over to reduce the strain and avoid having his wrist broken. He ended up with his face mashed into the floor, his hand bent behind his back, letting out a pained grunt.

Kakashi didn't let up.

"You give?"

"No", Iruka panted, trying to relax his aching arm as much as possible.

Kakashi tightened his grip a little. Iruka gasped in pain and for a moment he thought Kakashi would actually break his arm.

Kakashi changed tactics however, letting Iruka's arm out of the painful lock it was in and instead jerking both the chuunins arms above his head and pinning them there. Kakashi relaxed then, letting his full weight come to rest on Iruka.

The sudden pressure on his back forced another grunt from him as the air was pushed from his lungs. The position was embarrassing and yet strangely arousing at the same time. He could feel the heat of Kakashi's body along his entire length and the hot gusts of breath right behind his ear send little shivers down his spine. He wondered what Kakashi was feeling right now, was the other ninja affected too? Iruka could feel something hard pressed against his backside, but that could just as well be a scroll, those jounin carried stuff in the weirdest places.

When Kakashi spoke again he sounded amused, too amused.

"You enjoying this, Iruka-chan? You're lying a little too still…"

Iruka reacted without thinking. He slammed his head back with full force, right into the others face. Kakashi recoiled and Iruka managed to squirm out from beneath the jounin. He turned, ready for another attack from the masked ninja, but Kakashi just sat there on his knees with a stunned look, hands folded over his nose.

The silence became uncomfortable and Iruka opened his mouth to speak.

"Are you…", but before he could finish his question Kakashi made a few hand seals and disappeared, leaving Iruka alone in the room.

Whoa, what was that about? Was Kakashi pissed off because Iruka had gotten a hit in? Well, that was just childish, especially since the Copy-nin had been the one to start the whole thing.

Iruka sat down one one of the beds, waiting for the return of the other shinobi. Absentminded he rubbed the back of his head. It hurt.

Suddenly a thought occurred to him. _'If my head hurts this much, then how must Kakashi's nose feel?' _

Oh damn, what if he'd broken it? The man would never talk to him again. He probably hadn't even meant to insult Iruka, the guy just liked to tease people.

He'd spent twenty minutes or so feeling miserably guilty when Asuma and Ibiki entered the room. He tried to relax, making an effort to appear bored and unconcerned.

Which worked until Asuma opened his mouth. "Where is Kakashi-san?"

Now what was he going to say to that? _'He was grinding his scroll into me and called me 'chan', so I broke his nose?'_

Maybe not. "I don't-"

"Yo"

Kakashi came strolling in lazily, Icha Icha in his hand.

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I don't like this chapter very much. It was difficult to write and it took me quite a while. I just hope it doesn't suck too bad.

Thanks for all the reviews!


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry it took me so _incredibly_ long to update. I promise I'll be quicker with the next one

* * *

Iruka anxiously looked the other man over. There didn't seem to be anything wrong with him. The skin around his visible eye was the same pale creamy white as always, and not black and blue as Iruka had half expected. Of course, this didn't mean anything for a ninja. Camouflage was a large part of their training so Kakashi could appear in any form he wanted. The guy didn't look like he was in pain though.

"Kakashi-san…" He started hesitantly. The look Kakashi sent him shut him up before he could ask him if he was alright. The jounin smiled at Iruka; but underneath, there was a gentle warning not to ask any further. Iruka averted his eyes, he should have realized. If he really _had _broken Kakashi's nose he doubted that the man would like the other jounin to know about it. Maybe later on there would be a moment when he was alone with the masked jounin again and then he could apologize.

Iruka raised his eyes again and met Kakashi's. For no apparent reason he felt heat rising to his face. The fact that Kakashi kept his eyes trained firmly on Iruka's own made him blush even more.

Iruka was the first to look away. He turned to Asuma. "Asuma-san, how long will we stay here?"

"Three or four days."

Iruka was beginning to get a little fed up with not knowing what was going on or why. "And what will _I_ be doing during that time, Asuma-san?"

Asuma made a vague gesture with his cigarette and smiled at him. "Probably nothing, Iruka-sensei. It would be best if you just tried to relax en recover. P16 is nothing to scoff at and you did get two doses after all."

Iruka knew they were lying, or at least partly lying. Of course, P16 was a dangerous substance, but if the antidote was ingested in time, there were no long lasting consequences. The slight ache still lingering in his muscles would be completely gone by tomorrow morning. He was 100 sure that he was not the reason for their extended stay in the village. He very much doubted that he would ever be informed of the true reason though.

Iruka thumped down on one of the beds with a huff and pretended to search for something in his pack, just so he'd have a reason not to look at the other ninja any longer.

Kakashi and the other jounin started a quiet conversation, discussing seemingly ordinary things.

Iruka knew there was another conversation going on underneath their useless banter, but he couldn't figure out the meaning. What the hell did it mean that the baker was very good and had all sorts of cookies? Was 'the baker' an enemy organization and were the cookies ninja with different kinds of skills?

He knew he was just guessing at this point. For all he knew 'the baker' really was just a baker and Asuma had a cookie fetish.

Iruka decided to leave it alone. If he truly needed to know they'd tell him. Probably. Hopefully. He finally decided to retire for the night. He was tired and the soreness in his muscles was coming back after his little struggle with Kakashi. "Do you want me to take watch tonight?" He asked Asuma.

He was told that, no, he should just sleep, so that was what he tried. The room felt safe enough with three jounin still awake, so he dropped off quickly.

During the night, he heard someone leaving and coming back in several times. Each time he was sitting up straight in bed with a kunai in his hands, groggy, but ready for battle. Each time one of the jounin told him everything was fine and to go back to sleep, which he did within seconds. Finally, after so many times, he just pulled the blanket over his head and made a conscious decision to ignore any and all sounds made by his annoying companions.

The next time he woke, it was morning.

"Good morning, Iruka-sensei."

Iruka turned over and looked at the only other occupant of the room. "Good morning Ibiki-san." Rubbing his eyes, he sat up. "Where are Asuma-san and Kakashi-san?"

"Out getting some food."

Seconds later the door to their little room opened and the absentees entered bearing sweet smelling pastries.

They ate in companionable silence. Afterwards Asuma addressed him.

"We'll be moving to another establishment now, Iruka-sensei, you should get your pack ready."

Iruka looked up in surprise; he should have been used to getting strange orders from these men by now, but he still couldn't help asking, "Why?"

"Kakashi-san got drunk and made out with the owner's daughter last night. We're no longer welcome here."

When he shot Kakashi an unbelieving look, the man just smiled and shrugged, as if saying 'How was I supposed to know?'

Iruka didn't know what irked him more. The obvious lie, or the implication, however false, that Kakashi had made out with some girl. Not that he was jealous. No, he tried to justify the annoyed _hurt _feeling in the pit of his stomach. He was just upset at the alleged irresponsible behavior of a fellow Konoha ninja. That was all.

Soon after, the four of them left their room and made their way outside after returning the key to one of the Star ninja.

Iruka quietly followed the jounin through the busy streets of the Star village. Their group garnered some curious looks, but nobody followed them and nobody seemed to pay too much attention to them.

Finally, they arrived at a small shop. It was empty except for an older man standing behind the counter. As soon as he saw them, he looked around nervously and ushered them towards a staircase at the back of the shop. He led them upstairs and into a small windowless room.

"Need to go back before customers arrive." With those quickly mumbled words, he left them alone in the room, softly closing the door behind him.

Iruka was about the demand why someone, _anyone_, didn't just tell him what the hell they were doing here, when Kakashi made a few hand seals, mumbled something and the room suddenly became a whole lot more crowded.

Apparently, Iruka was once again the only one who wasn't in on the plans, because Ibiki and Asuma didn't seem at all surprised to be faced with four Kakashi's.

Three henge's later their entire team had been replicated. With only a nod as goodbye, Kakashi and his clones walked out of the room, leaving Iruka alone with Asuma and Ibiki.

Determined to get some answers Iruka opened his mouth, only to have his questions cut off by Asuma.

"You'll know when you need to, Iruka-sensei. For now, we just wait."

Iruka watched in defeat as Ibiki and Asuma made themselves comfortable on the floor. With a sigh, he joined them. When- _If_, he made it back to Konoha, he was complaining to the Hokage. If she didn't trust him with all the information, she shouldn't have sent him on this mission.

After a while, Ibiki ended the awkward silence. "You still haven't told us how you know Kagebunshin no Jutsu, Iruka-sensei."

Iruka was tempted to ignore the jounin and sulk a little longer, but he knew such a childish reaction would not be appreciated.

He took a deep breath, shook off his bad mood and smiled at the scarred man sitting in front of him. "Naruto practically forced me to learn it." He grinned as he thought about his favorite student. "A couple of months ago I was sent on a mission, B-rank. It should have been easy, just the retrieval of a stolen scroll. The ninja were not supposed to be very skilled. They weren't, so that wasn't the problem. The thing was there were supposed to be three of them, not fourteen. There were just too many. I managed to get the scroll and get out, but I got a few nasty injuries in the process." Iruka paused for a breath. "Anyway, Naruto was upset at me for being in the hospital again, and he kept badgering me about increasing my skills until I promised him I'd practice with him. He sees Kagebunshin as his best skill, so he tried to teach me. I have nowhere near his chakra reserves and what you saw on the battle field is about the best I can do without compromising my fighting abilities."

Ibiki nodded thoughtfully. "It is a useful skill, Iruka-sensei. I'm surprised you managed it though, with Naruto as a teacher."

Iruka smiled. "He's grown up a lot. He can be serious, when he wants to be."

They were silent again now that the conversation was over, and Iruka settled in for the wait.

The day dragged on excruciatingly slowly. Iruka meditated, doodled on empty scroll, ate an energy bar when he got hungry, fidgeted a long time before asking Asuma if he could leave the room to find a bathroom somewhere because he _really_ needed to go, meditated some more and finally just decided to sleep. He'd probably need his energy later.

It was the middle of the night before Kakashi returned.

"They followed until sundown before turning back." The masked nin stated.

"Good" Asuma said, before blowing a smoke ring. "Heard anything useful?"

"It's as we thought."

"Damn" Asuma sighed. "We go on as planned then."

Iruka felt a little nervous when their team leader finally turned to him.

"Iruka-sensei, we were hoping this could be avoided." There was an ominous silence, as Asuma took another drag from his smoke. "Tomorrow Ishikawa Seiichi, Leiko's father, is going on a diplomatic mission to Sand Country. There will most likely be an attack on him. We think they want to take him alive, but we don't know why or who is behind it. Tomorrow morning we will make the switch and you will go in his stead."

Iruka swallowed thickly. He should have seen this coming the moment he'd seen Leiko's father. Of course, they wouldn't bring a chuunin on a highly dangerous mission just to baby sit a kid.

This was going to be dangerous, who knew what the attackers would do to 'Seiichi' when they caught him…

He took a deep breath. This was his job, his duty. He would not let the Hokage down. "What preparations are necessary?" He asked Asuma calmly. He knew Seiichi had a different hairstyle and some grey in his hair too; so they would need to fix that; and of course, there was his scar, which they would have to cover somehow.

Kakashi answered him. "Your looks can be fixed easily, Iruka-sensei. We have a more difficult problem to cope with. Ishikawa-san is a civilian."

Iruka gave Kakashi a confused look, he had no idea what the man was getting at.

"There is something I need to do, Iruka-sensei. It shouldn't hurt, although it may be a little uncomfortable. Sit down."

Feeling strangely nervous Iruka obeyed and sat down on the floor.

"We can't risk you using a jutsu out of reflex Iruka-sensei." The masked ninja continued. "They will sense any form of unusual chakra use, even if it's only to up your speed a little. You're so accustomed to enhancing your performance with use of your chakra that you won't even notice using it. They _will_ notice however. This is absolutely necessary. Don't worry though; the effects should be completely reversible." Kakashi approached him with a smile that did nothing to sooth his nerves.

_Should be?_ What the fuck was that supposed to mean?!

Iruka twitched nervously as Ibiki pushed him down on his back and pulled his shirt up to bare his abdomen. He looked on wide eyed as Kakashi started a series of complicated seals too fast for his eyes to follow. After a few moments, the jounin pressed his hands down on Iruka's bare belly.

Iruka felt a shock go through his body. At first, he thought it was just because Kakashi's hands felt very hot against his skin, but then he noticed something else. He felt weaker, feeble almost. As a test, he tried to concentrate some chakra in his feet. Nothing happened. He had no control whatsoever over his chakra flow.

On his stomach, there were strange symbols, vaguely reminiscent of the seal Naruto had. They were clearly visible for a moment before seemingly sinking into his skin and disappearing.

Iruka had to fight the urge to demand Kakashi remove the thing.

It had been a very long time since he'd felt this helpless and vulnerable. Any ninja would be able to overpower him right now. He had no more strength than a civilian, albeit one in good physical condition. His reflexes would be nowhere near as fast as they normally were and his speed… There would be no way he could run from the enemy. He felt panic rising inside of him. They were expecting him to be captured, and yet they had just taken away his ability to fight back.

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Thanks so much for all your comments. I'll try really hard to have another update soon.


	8. Chapter 8

With great difficulty he managed to keep his breathing calm and slow. It wouldn't do to start hyperventilating in front of these men. He'd survived worse things in his live. Hadn't he? Although right now he really couldn't think of anything. Surely in all his years as a ninja he'd been in more dangerous situations than this one?

Everything would be fine, he tried to reassure himself; after all, he had back up from some of the most skilled ninja in Konoha. Hell, he had the legendary copy nin on his side, he'd be fine. Really. Stubbornly he ignored the torture scenes that kept popping into his mind. He could handle a little torture. It was amazing what they could do with prosthetic limbs these days. And he really didn't need to have all of his fingers intact in order to teach…

Damn it, why hadn't they just told him about this part of the mission sooner?! Then at least he'd have had some time to get used to the idea.

His gaze fell on Kakashi who was still crouching in front of him. That annoying smile of his still firmly in place.

A sudden fit of rage swept over him. He grabbed the only object within easy reach, the scroll he'd been doodling on earlier that evening, and threw it violently at the man who'd just stolen his chakra control.

Iruka watched in detached fascination as the scroll bounced harmlessly of Kakashi's head.

"Feel better?" the jounin sounded more amused than upset at Iruka's impulsive act.

Iruka did feel slightly better though, so… "Yeah"

Unable to look the other man in the eye any longer he stared at the floor between them, fidgeting nervously with his shirt.

"Is this… me?"

Iruka looked up at Kakashi's question and nearly bit his tongue off when he saw what the copy nin was pointing at. Scrambling forward he made a grab for the scroll that now lay spread out in front of the masked jounin.

One handedly keeping Iruka away from the scroll, Kakashi looked gleefully at the picture the chuunin-sensei had doodled; a huge bulldog covered in scars sat with a lazy looking black Labrador who was smoking a cigarette and a crazy looking mutt, totally black except for a white spot around its right eye, and with an _obscenely_ long tongue lolling out of its mouth.

"You got my hair wrong... Ibiki-san turned out nice though."

Iruka had never planned for his companions to see their canine counterparts, he'd rather live longer than today, thank you, and made another desperate grab for the wretched scroll. Before he could get the thing away from Kakashi though, the jounin rolled it up and stuck it in his vest.

"Think I'll keep this, Iruka-sensei. You don't mind do you? Good. Now there are a few more things we have to take care of before we sent you off on your merry way."

Kakashi's words rudely reminded Iruka of the situation he was in and he sat back down dejectedly.

When Kakashi moved to come closer again Iruka scrambled backwards inadvertently moving into Ibiki who'd still been sitting behind him. Jerking away from the hand Ibiki had dropped on his shoulder, he jumped up, walking backwards until his back hit the wall.

"How about just telling me what you're going to do, Kakashi-san." Iruka said nervously. He'd had enough surprises for one day.

Three jounin looked back at him with barely concealed amusement.

_Bunch of stupid, arrogant, perverted, sadistic…bastards_.

Finally Asuma seemed to take pity on him. "We just need to fix your hair, Iruka-sensei." The man said with a disarming smile, cigarette dangling between his lips.

"Oh" Iruka said intelligently, staying where he was.

"Sit" Asuma suggested softly.

"Right" Taking a shaky breath he took a few steps forward and sank to his knees.

Ibiki silently crouched behind him, large hands gently reaching out and pulling loose the string that kept Iruka's hair in its ponytail.

Iruka stared straight ahead as Ibiki's thick fingers combed through his hair so it fell loosely around his head. Asuma meanwhile had turned away, busying himself with some maps he'd produced from his backpack.

Kakashi was still looking at Iruka. He was no longer smiling though. In fact, the man was looking very serious. The intense scrutiny was making him even more nervous.

Iruka was surprised to see Kakashi frown when Ibiki made the first cut and the first of Iruka's locks were reduced to less than half of their original length. What was the jounin worried about? Had Ibiki cut off too much? Iruka didn't think so; Seiichi wore his hair pretty short.

Iruka looked at the dark strands of hair, now littering the floor around him, with some regret. He liked his ponytail. Now he would have to go through that awkward stage again when his hair was long enough to fall in his face but too short to stay secured in his ponytail.

Oh well, It'd grow back eventually. If he survived that long…

Finally Ibiki seemed satisfied with Iruka's new hairdo.

Iruka dreaded the answer, but he had to ask. "What about Seiichi-san's grey hairs?"

"I've got something for that." The scarred jounin mumbled, riffling through his backpack. He finally produced a little bottle. "This'll bleach your hair to make it look grayish, Iruka-sensei. I'm afraid you'll have to wait for it to grow out after the mission though. The process is not reversible."

_Nice. _Things just kept on getting better and better for him. Now, if he managed to survive this stupid mission, he'd be looking like a forty year old for a couple of months.

As Ibiki applied the foul-smelling stuff, Iruka felt thankful that at least Seiichi only had a few grey locks in his hair.

Iruka sat through the procedure patiently, deliberately avoiding looking in the direction of the masked jounin who was still sitting oposite him. He had the feeling that Kakashi was enjoying his torture.

A few minutes later Ibiki wetted a cloth with water from his canteen and wiped the stuff off.

Iruka wished he had a mirror.

"Alright, what now?" Iruka asked. He thought it best to get everything over with as soon as possible.

His question had been directed at Ibiki, but it was Kakashi who answered. "Make-up!" The jounin announced cheerfully.

Iruka waited in dread as the man approached him. He watched as Kakashi pulled a little jar out of his pocket that held some kind of fluid. It seemed to be the exact color of Iruka's skin.

Iruka gritted his teeth as his anger returned. The little jar reminded him of the fact that the three jounin had been prepared for this part of the mission all along. It just wasn't fair. He was going to put his life at risk, he should have been told.

What pissed him of even more was that he couldn't even be rightfully upset about it. He'd always agreed with the villages policies; the less people knew about secretive missions, the better it was. It was just safer that way. At least, that was what he'd always thought. He was inclined to change his mind now.

Trying to reign in his temper he closed his eyes and counted backwards from thirty. At seventeen he lost count when he felt gentle fingers start rubbing the cold face-paint over his scar.

He kept his eyes closed, for some reason not wanting to face Kakashi when he was this close.

Kakashi´s fingers were warm and callused. Iruka wondered how they would feel on the rest of his body.

He imagined Kakashi dropping his hands lower and sliding them under his shirt, slowly sliding up his chest until they reached a nipple…

"All done."

The rough whisper near his ear startled him out of his reverie and he opened his eyes, looking straight into Kakashi's, who was still standing very close.

Iruka swallowed dryly when the jounin didn't move away from him.

He hadn't realized he'd licked his lips until he saw Kakashi's gaze drop to his mouth. The jounin's warm breath caressed his face and he had to fight the urge to close his eyes again.

Kakashi smiled at him knowingly. Or at least, Iruka thought he did. Damn that mask.

Finally Kakashi took a step back, breaking the moment. "You should get a couple of hours of sleep Iruka-sensei." He said, sounding like his normal self.

"Alright" Iruka mumbled. "Am I done now then? Do you think it'll convince the enemy?"

"It should." Asuma answered his last question. "You have to remember, no one knows about this plan, except Ishikawa-san himself and a very select group of people, whose loyalty is beyond question. Nobody will expect anyone other than Ishikawa-san, so they likely won't look beyond the surface."

Iruka nodded. He could only hope that Asuma was right.

"Kakashi-san is right." Asuma added. "You should get some sleep. Everything else can be taken care of in the morning."

_Everything else?_ What more were they planning?! He wasn't sure he ever wanted to find out.

He shook out his bedroll and stretched out on it. It took a long time for him to fall asleep and he was comfortably drifting in and out of sleep when he heard Kakashi speak up.

"We'll be too far away. I don't like it."

"It's the only way." Asuma answered.

"Shhh He's awake" Those were the last words Iruka heard before he drifted off again.

* * *

Hey everyone. Sorry. I know this one sucks. I'll try to put a lot more action into the next chapter. 


	9. Chapter 9

AN: Sorry it took so long. Again.

* * *

Long before dawn Iruka woke up with a sense of dread and an overall feeling of tiredness. His life hadn't gotten any better while he slept, he decided. There was nothing for it though; he was just going to have to make the best of it. 

The four of them quietly chewed on some energy bars for breakfast and waited. Slowly the sounds of the waking village drifted up to their little hideout. Shops were opening, people talking, dogs barking.

Suddenly the door opened and Ishikawa-san looked into the room uncertainly. He stared with open mouth when he saw Iruka. "Wow", he muttered.

Asuma told the both of them to exchange clothes, so Ishikawa-san and Iruka both stripped, Iruka pulling on Ishikawa-san's clothes and the civilian borrowing Iruka's.

"Perfect," the jounin muttered. "Only one thing left." Asuma ruffled through his vest pocket, pulled out a little box and threw it at Iruka. "Suck on one of these," he ordered.

Iruka caught the small box and looked inside. There were about ten little pills inside of it. He took one of them out and popped it into his mouth. It didn't really taste like anything, just a bit chalky. Soon though, his throat started feeling a little scratchy. He looked at Asuma questioningly.

"Just keep sucking until it's dissolved, Iruka-sensei. It doesn't do any permanent harm."

The scratchy feeling increased until his throat was downright painful. With wry amusement he thought back about how happy he'd been when he'd finally made chuunin. He should have read the job description a little better.

When the pill was completely dissolved Iruka swallowed a few times.

"Say something." Asuma ordered.

"Bastard" He sounded like he'd spend an entire week getting drunk in a karaoke bar.

"Good." Asuma said, nodding. "If anyone asks you what happened to your voice, you have a throat infection, and those little pills are medicine. It should be enough to take one each morning."

This was great. Just great.

Then, Kakashi approached him with a small cloth in his hand. "May I?" The jounin asked politely.

Iruka had no idea what Kakashi was planning to do with it, but it couldn't be any worse than all the other shit they'd done to him, so he just nodded.

Gently Kakashi rubbed the cloth over the back of Iruka's neck and behind his ear. Then he pulled away and stepped back. "Scent reminder." He simply said.

Iruka's eyebrows shot up.

"For the dogs, Iruka-sensei. Pakkun knows how you smell, but he can't explain it to the others. This way they can track you if necessary."

Iruka blushed. He should have thought of that.

"Alright" Ibiki broke the awkward moment. "Is there anything Iruka-sensei needs to know before going?" He asked, turning to Ishikawa-san.

The man shook his head. "Not really. I have no allergies, no food dislikes and no weird habits as far as I know, I don't snore…I really can't think of anything you need to know. You won't need to talk much anyway with your 'throat infection'.

Asuma nodded sagely and slapped a hand on Iruka's shoulder. "You up for this, Iruka-sensei?"

Now they ask him? Damn jounins. He nodded of course; there wasn't anything else he could do.

"Alright, you walk back to the Ishikawa mansion, let yourself in and wait for your escort to arrive which will be in about an hour."

Ishikawa-san took over. "Your bags are packed and standing in the hallway. Leiko-chan and her mother left to visit with an aunt yesterday, so you won't have to say goodbye to them." There was a small pause and then the civilian took Iruka's hand and shook it. "Thank you for doing this, Iruka-san."

Iruka nodded again.

"You need to leave now, Iruka-sensei." Ibiki said. "We'll follow as soon as we can."

"Ok" Iruka croaked and he turned to leave.

Kakashi stopped him in his tracks. "Meh, Iruka-sensei, don't forget this."

A paper bag was thrust into his hands.

"It's the book you just bought in this store."

"Ah, Thank you, Kakashi-san."

With the bag in his hand Iruka turned and walked out the door. On the other side of it he took a deep breath. He could do this. He walked down the stairs, waved at the nervous shopkeeper and stepped into the bright sunny streets of the Star village.

* * *

The walk to the house went perfectly. He'd been a little nervous about finding the way, but to his relief he recognized everything when he stepped outside. His teacher's memory served him well. 

A few people greeted him on the street and he politely waved back at them. One man tried to engage him in a conversation, but Iruka only had to point at this throat and croak out 'infection' and he was sent on his way with a sympathetic pat on the back and the advice to drink hot water with lemon and honey. No one seemed to think there was anything strange about him. So far so good.

Everything went swimmingly, until he reached the front door of the mansion, the _closed _front door of the mansion.

Keeping the panic from his face, he started patting the various pockets of Ishikawa-san's outfit. In the worst case, he reasoned, he could always go ask a neighbor for help and tell them he'd accidentally locked himself out. Luckily there was no need for that; he found the keys in the arm pocket of his jacket. Thankfully there were only two keys on the chain. He would have looked like an idiot if there had been more and he'd have to try them all out.

When he was inside Iruka breathed a sigh of relief. The first part was over. What now? He had at least twenty minutes before his body guards were supposed to show up. Breakfast, he decided. Energy bars may give energy, but they didn't exactly fill him up or anything, and he was going to be eating 'travel food' for the next few days. If all went to hell, he wanted to have had at least one more decent meal. Leiko's father wouldn't mind if he raided their fridge. And if he did mind, well who cared?

Despite his painful throat Iruka enjoyed his breakfast of leftover sushi and sliced exotic fruit. He deserved it, he thought. He was going to need his strength the coming days.

After he'd eaten he remembered the package Kakashi had given him, curiously he picked the package up from the table where he'd dropped it earlier. Kakashi had said it was a book. 'Ishikawa' needed to look as if he had a reason for going into the store where they'd been hiding, and the store did sell a few books so he guessed it was a logical choice. He opened the paper bag, shook the book into his hand and stared at the glaring orange cover with a man chasing a rather busty woman.

_Icha icha paradise_. He should have known Kakashi wouldn't give him a normal book. Damn pervert.

He dropped the book back onto the table and went to get a drink of water from the tap. He couldn't keep his eyes from returning to the book though. The tacky cover almost seemed to dare him to open it.

Maybe one little peek couldn't hurt, nobody had to know.

He felt a blush creep up on him as he walked back to the table and picked the indecent book up. Right as he opened it to the first page there was a knock on the door. It was noon.

Startled, he stuffed the book inside his jacket, took a deep breath and went to the door. The next part of his mission had just begun.

Eight men were waiting for him outside, with ten horses. One of the men took Iruka's bags and secured them to one of the horses while Iruka locked the door behind himself. He gave his little 'sore throat' performance, once more received understanding nods and then mounted the horse that was guided towards him.

With a brisk trot the group rode out of the village.

* * *

The first day of travel went well. It was even kind of relaxing. Iruka suspected they wouldn't be attacked on the first day; they'd still be too close to the Star village and its guards. No, if he had to take a guess he'd say tomorrow, or more likely even, the day after tomorrow. By that time they would be halfway to their destination and far away from help. 

That evening after they made camp the guards served him soup and bread with meat. He could get used to traveling this way, he decided.

It had gotten dark and he guessed Asuma, Ibiki and Kakashi would be on their way here by now. It shouldn't take them too to make it here, couple of hours at the most. He knew he wouldn't see them though, not for a few days, not until after the attack.

That night Iruka slept in a tent on his own, while the guards held watch. This was probably his last chance to get a good night sleep, so he forced himself to relax. It was useless to worry about tomorrow and tiredness would only cloud his judgment when he really needed to be sharp.

The next morning they started out early. It was another eventless day. They rode until it got dark, taking some small breaks throughout the day.

Iruka had taken another little pill that morning. It made his voice sound even worse than yesterday and so none of the guards tried to engage him in conversation. Iruka kept a careful watch on his companions though. One of the guards was making him suspicious; the man was looking around too nervously, as if he was expecting something.

Ishikawa-san hadn't mentioned any suspicions towards his bodyguards but some of them might be involved with the enemy.

That evening dinner was brought to him again. As he munched on the cooked rabbit, he thought about the coming night. It would be a good night for the attack, he figured. The sky was clear and the full moon made it easy to see. No, it wouldn't surprise him one bit if tonight was the night.

After he'd finished eating Iruka stretched out on his bedroll. He yawned, he was tired. His eyes began to fall closed.

Shit. With a jerk he sat upright. Only minutes ago he'd been feeling fine, not tired at all, now he couldn't keep his eyes open. Had to have been the rabbit, he decided. It didn't feel like poison luckily, just like a strong sedative. Carefully Iruka lay back down, there was no reason for him to fight this and then fall unconscious in an uncomfortable position that would only hurt his fighting chance later on. There was nothing he could do about it now, so he might as well be comfortable.

Damn that stuff was working fast. Slowly he brought his hand to his pocket and brought out his little box of pills. Blinking his blurry eyes, he managed to grab on of the little pills and put it in his mouth. Just in case he was asleep for a long time. He had just enough time to shove the pillbox back into his pocket, before drowsiness overcame him and everything went dark.

The first thing that Iruka became aware of was nausea; the second thing he became aware of was the cause of it. He was hanging upside down thrown over someone's shoulder and that person was running.

Slowly his memories came back to him. Alright, this was it then and at least one of the guards had been in on it. Iruka decided that now he was awake he should at least put up a token resistance. It would be suspicious if he didn't, so he started to struggle weakly against the person holding him. Sadly not much of the weakness was an act.

As soon as the man who was carrying him noticed his struggles he stopped and set Iruka down. The sudden swing from upside down to upright had the forest spinning around him.

"Ishikawa-san? Are you alright?"

Confused, Iruka stared at the man. It was the guard who'd been acting suspicious.

"I heard them talking about something, some of the others, they were really vague, but I just got this feeling you know, like something was wrong. And the feeling got stronger and stronger, and tonight they, the ones I heard talking, were the ones who were preparing the food, so I decided not to eat. And then I saw the others start yawning and I knew they'd done something to it. So I made a clone that pretended to sleep and then I created a diversion and grabbed you. Do you think you can hold on to me if I carry you on my back? We really need to hurry they can't be far behind us."

Iruka blinked at the overwhelming flood of information the guard dropped on him. It took only seconds for it to sink in. This guard was not the enemy, and the man had just single-handedly destroyed the plan Asuma, Ibiki and Kakashi had thought up.

It was supposed to have been simple. Iruka would let himself be caught, he'd find out who the enemy was and what they wanted and then Asuma, Ibiki and Kakashi would rescue him. Simple.

And then one loyal guard with good instincts had to go and mess everything up. Now what was he supposed to do?

"Ishikawa-san?"


	10. Chapter 10

"Ishikawa-san?"

Iruka looked back at the guard who had just 'rescued' him. He didn't know whether he was allowed to tell anyone that he wasn't Ishikawa-san, even if that person was a loyal star shinobi. He could only think of one thing to do. "No" He croaked.

"Huh?" The guard muttered, confused.

"Can't hold you. Go alone. Get help."

The guard looked hesitant, so Iruka gave him a very weak little shove and growled "Go! You need to get help fast, it's our only chance."

Shit, Iruka thought, when instead of running away, the guard picked him up again. He really needed to get rid of this guy.

The young guard ran only a short distance though and then halted at some large bushes. "Hide here! I'll make a clone and go on, with any luck they'll think you ran with me." Quickly the man produced a clone and dashed away.

Iruka really hoped the shinobi could outrun whoever was after them, maybe after they found 'Ishikawa-san' they wouldn't even bother to pursue the man. If capture hadn't been part of his plan Iruka would have been very fortunate to have the guard around. He was a good man; it'd be a pity if he got killed.

Instead of hiding in the thick bushes, Iruka waited until he was sure the guard was out of hearing distance and then he weakly stood up and started back where he, presumably, came from. As a civilian diplomat they wouldn't expect him to have great navigational skills, so no one would be suspicious if he 'accidentally' wandered right into the hands of the enemy.

Slowly Iruka started tracking. It was harder then he thought. He'd assumed that the guard had grabbed him and simply dashed off, trying to get as far away as possible. Annoyingly, the man seemed to have actually thought about his escape. It was difficult to follow the trail of someone who'd doubled back and jumped through trees and whatnot, but it was damn near impossible to do so while trying to look as if he had no idea where he was going. It didn't help that he only had moonlight to guide him either.

After a short time he lost the trail. Apparently the guard had managed to travel through the trees for a while, even with Iruka's weight on his shoulders, because there were no signs of their passing on the ground.

Without his chakra control and still feeling weak from the sedative, there was no way Iruka was going to be able to jump from tree to tree following the trail left by the man. And he couldn't risk acting too much like a ninja. He was supposed to be a civilian after all. Finally he decided that his best option was to wait.

His pursuers would probably be able to track the guard, and they would find Iruka eventually. If he kept walking now he'd lost the trail there was the possibility that he'd miss the enemy ninja entirely, and while he didn't really look forward to being tortured and interrogated, he had a mission to finish.

He walked back to the last point where he was sure the guard had carried him and hid behind a bush, making sure to show enough of himself that a ninja would be able to spot him. Then he waited…and waited…and waited.

Damn it, how incapable were these guys? Iruka was bored out of his skull.

Suddenly he remembered Kakashi's book. He felt inside his jacket. It was still there. He pulled it out and opened it somewhere in the middle of the story. If he held the book at the right angle to catch the moonlight he could just make out the words.

_'Yuki looked around determinedly, there had to be a way out of this place. He wasn't going to let this vicious group of women get the better of him. Damn it! Someone was approaching the door. Quickly he lay down and pretended to be asleep. __This time it wasn't him they were coming for. He looked through his lashes as a gorgeous big-breasted blond opened the cell next to his and approached the slight brown-haired man that was resting there chained to the cot. __The woman's pretty, delicate hands wasted no time in pulling down the man's slacks and curling around his member. Yuki closed his eyes again as he listened to the other man's pitiful protest. "No! Please! I can't. Not again-'_

Iruka slammed the book closed and felt his entire face grow hot. Stupid jounin, giving him a book like that. Still, his eyes were drawn back to the cover. He really shouldn't read crap like this…but what was going to happen to those men? Would Yuki escape? And would he leave the poor brown-haired man behind or take him with him? And who was this Yuki person anyway, why were they being imprisoned by gorgeous women?

With a guilty little thrill Iruka opened the book to page one. In the left upper corner of the cover there was a small drawing. Iruka looked closer. It was a little scarecrow; Kakashi had given him his very own book! Now that he was paying attention to it Iruka realized that the pages did look a little worn.

He smiled a little; somehow it was reassuring to have that book. The way Naruto told it, Kakashi was almost never without it. The jounin would surely want it back. He would come for his book, and for Iruka.

Iruka focused on the first sentence and within moments he was absorbed in the story of Yuki, the handsome white-haired man who had made a fortune when he was young and now traveled the world in search of adventure.

He was halfway through chapter two when a sudden silence in the forest alerted him to someone's presence. He stuffed the book back inside his jacket and waited.

Before long he could hear arguing.

"Idiot! How the hell could you let them get away!"

"Hey, that's not fair, you were there too!"

"Yeah well, you were the one who lost the trail!"

"You could have helped you know, instead of just telling me to hurry it up. If you hadn't been so pushy I wouldn't have lost the trail in the first place and we wouldn't have lost so much time. They're probably reaching the village as we speak."

Iruka looked on in amazement as two of Ishikawa's guards ran right past him, so absorbed in their arguing that they didn't even notice Iruka's badly hidden frame.

"We're going to miss the deadline"

The words sounded strangely desperate to Iruka and he almost felt sorry for the two men. There would probably be dire consequences for them when they didn't deliver 'Ishikawa' to their bosses at the right time. He was one hundred percent sure that these guys were not the masterminds behind this whole operation.

Iruka wondered what he should do to get their attention. They had to find him but he couldn't be too obvious about it or they might get suspicious. He was not going to sneeze, that would be too cliché. He nodded to himself as he came to a decision.

He waited just a little while longer until the men were completely out of sight and then he crawled from behind the bushes and started running as fast as he could in the opposite direction, making sure to step on branches, kick through leaves and generally make as much noise as thought he could get away with without raising suspicion.

Now unless these ninja were total degenerates and completely unworthy of their rank, they would hear him and come after him. Shouldn't take them too-

"Oomph" Iruka grunted as he was roughly tackled from behind. That was quicker then he thought. He trashed violently and did his best to look panicked as the two men struggled to keep him pinned down.

Suddenly he felt the cold metal of a kunai against the side of his neck. One of the men spoke close to his ear. "Stop moving or I'll cut your throat."

Any civilian with a little common sense would obey if they were threatened like that, so Iruka let his limbs go slack and tried to catch his breath. A second later a hand grabbed his hair and roughly pulled him up.

The ninja who was threatening him with the kunai hissed at the other man. "Tie him up! We're not risking him getting away again."

Iruka's hands were jerked behind his back and bound together too tightly. When that was done the man stuffed a filthy cloth into Iruka's mouth and gagged him. Iruka was sorely tempted to bite. After a small hesitation the man pulled another piece of cloth from his pocket and tied it around the chuunin's head, blindfolding him. Satisfied that Iruka wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, the other guard pulled the kunai away from his throat.

Iruka didn't know whether to be upset or relieved about the blindfold. On the one hand it meant that it would be more difficult to find his way back from wherever they would take him, on the other hand, combined with the gag, his face was now largely hidden from view and there was less of a chance that they'd notice that he wasn't really Ishikawa.

"You think we can still make it?"

"Maybe. Let's not tell them about Mori though, they'd kill us."

Iruka recognized that name as the name of the guard that had tried to save him. Good. If they didn't tell anyone then there was a very good chance that the man would reach the village unscathed. If Iruka survived this mission he'd make sure that that guard got the praise he deserved, even if he hadn't been able to keep 'Ishikawa' out of the hands of the enemy.

Iruka growled when he was suddenly picked up and thrown over someone's shoulder. Again. He deserved to get a medal for all the shit he'd had to put up with since leaving Konoha; being poisoned, being kept out of the loop, having his chakra control stolen, his hair cut, and now he was being bounced around again as two men carried him to someone much more dangerous then them. He was so going to ask Tsunade for a vacation after this, and she'd better damn well give it to him.

While the guards took turns carrying him through the forest Iruka tried to prepare himself mentally for what was coming. He always knew that he would probably die while on a mission. Few ninja lived to die from old age after all. He would have liked to have a partner, maybe have kids of his own, or a dog, something. But he was also glad that his death wouldn't leave anyone heartbroken. Except for Naruto of course, Naruto would be inconsolable. But the boy was young and he had the support of Kakashi, Tsunade, Sakura and a long line of friends. He'd get over it.

And who was to say that Iruka was going to die? If someone simply wanted Ishikawa dead they could have killed him a hundred times over by now. Obviously they were after something else. And he shouldn't be forgetting about his back-up, three of Konoha's best were probably following his trail at that very moment. Cheered up by that thought, Iruka turned his thoughts to more practical concerns, trying not to puke as every jump from the guard made him bounce on the bony shoulder.

Iruka didn't know how long it took them exactly but he was extremely grateful when they finally stopped and he heard the sound of horses. He was lifted on top of one of the large beasts, coming to sit in front of one of the guards, and their journey continued. Now he was sitting upright again his nausea slowly ebbed away and he could concentrate on his surroundings. They'd left the forest behind them and were riding in something more open, like a meadow. He could hear a small stream to his left. He tried to memorize all the clues he could from his environment. If he needed to escape at some point in time they might help him find his way.

After a while they began to climb and Iruka cursed silently to himself. Mountain camps were always more difficult to approach, he hoped the others could manage.

"Took you long enough"

Iruka jerked as a gruff voice spoke up to his right. He hadn't realized there was someone else with them now.

"Did the others give you trouble?"

Suddenly Iruka felt something sharp and pointy being pressed into his lower back threateningly and the guard behind him answered the newcomer confidently. "Nothing we couldn't handle."

Obviously Ishikawa's guards didn't want this man to know about the guard that got away. Interesting, apparently they were more scared of admitting their failure to this guy than of the possibility that the other guard would come after them with back-up. The only conclusion he could draw from that was that this man was a vicious bastard. It didn't do much for Iruka's peace of mind.

A few tense minutes went by as the horses trotted on. When they stopped altogether, Iruka figured they had reached their destination. He was right. A hand grabbed his jacket and jerked him off of the horse. Without his hands to keep himself balanced, he fell forward. He would have landed on his face if he hadn't twisted halfway through. As it was he landed hard on his shoulder and grunted in pain.

The mysterious guy pulled him up and started dragging him of the path and through the undergrowth. Iruka desperately tried to keep up and avoid further injuries. He had to make sure he was able to fight if it was necessary.

Soon he became aware of voices. There were at least three other men where they were headed. Seconds later Iruka was thrown to the ground. He cried out in pain as he hit his injured shoulder.

"No! You monsters! Leave him alone! Seiichi-" The protest ended in a scream of pain.

That voice…It couldn't be! Nozomi-chan?!

He heard a desperate sob in response and then he heard a voice that hit him even harder.

"Daddy!"

Leiko-chan! Oh hell, those bastards had Leiko...

* * *

AN: I'm sorry for leaving this fic for so long. Real life has been way too busy.


	11. Chapter 11

A presence near him made him freeze, which was a good thing because a second later he felt a kunai slide beneath the fabric of his blindfold, and none too carefully either. His head jerked as the man cut through the cloth and he blinked in the early morning light as it fell away. In front of him stood a tall, fair-skinned man. He could have been handsome if it wasn't for the unpleasant look in his eyes.

The man looked at him expectantly, his eyes locked firmly on Iruka's own.

"You don't recognize me do you?" the man said finally.

Iruka bit on the gag as a sudden panic shot through him. He fought to keep the emotion from showing on his face. He was supposed to know this man? Damn it! If they figured out he wasn't Ishikawa… this situation would get ugly, not only for Iruka himself but for Leiko and Nozomi as well.

His backup was nowhere near here. He thought. He might be wrong of course; it wasn't exactly like they'd kept him in the loop or anything. Maybe if they'd given him a little more information, instead of just dressing him up and sending him out to play, he wouldn't be in this situation to begin with. Now he had two helpless people completely dependent on him and if push came to shove he wouldn't even be able to defend himself, let alone them and-

"You wouldn't", the man said, interrupting Iruka's thoughts. "People like me mean nothing to people like you."

It was almost funny how the bad guys always seemed to feel justified when they kidnapped innocent people.

"An ambitious politician like you…Of course you wouldn't remember someone you've only seen once. But trust me though; you will never be able to forget my face ever again."

Ominous as that sounded Iruka felt relieved, if Ishikawa had only met this guy once chances were the man wouldn't realize he was talking to a fake.

Soft sobbing sounds from behind him distracted him from the man in front of him and he turned his head to look at Leiko and her step-mom. They were huddled together, shying away from the guards that stood behind them. Nozomi's left eye was nearly swollen shut and bruises stood out lividly against her skin.

Anger welled up inside him. Damned cowards, he was sure Nozomi's injuries hadn't been necessary. A ninja knew exactly the right place to touch to make someone unable to struggle. No, whoever had hit her had done it for fun, not out of necessity.

Iruka's only comfort was that Leiko seemed to be unharmed. He had to find a way to get them away from here.

A movement in the corner of his eye was the only warning he got before a fist slammed into his gut. Hard.

"I'd prefer it if you'd look at me while I'm talking to you, Ishikawa-san," his captor said calmly, as if he hadn't just punched Iruka.

Painfully Iruka uncurled himself and looked at the man defiantly, ignoring Nozomi and Leiko's screams behind him. "What do you want?" He mumbled, trying to get the words past the gag that was still in his mouth.

The man raised his kunai again and slid it under the gag, cutting it with one swift move. This time Iruka was less lucky and he felt a sting on his cheek and then wet warmth started dripping down his jaw.

He spit out the gag when it came loose. "What do you want?" he repeated.

"A small favor"

Iruka waited tensely for the rest.

"You're going to escape here with the help of your two trusty guards," the man waved vaguely in the direction of the men who'd 'captured' Iruka in the forest. "And then you'll find your way back to your village where you're going to identify the man who led the group who captured you. One of my…associates…will make sure you identify the right person. He should be arriving at the village as we speak."

Iruka watched as his two 'guards' exchange a worried look and he nearly smirked. Apparently they hadn't been aware of this part of the plan. Maybe they just thought they were delivering Ishikawa to someone who wanted him dead. The one guard who got away was posing a real problem now. If they returned they would undoubtedly be recognized as accomplices.

"Of course we will keep your wife and child here for the time being to ensure that your acting is convincing."

Iruka fought the urge to roll his eyes. Of course they would. And then after he'd pointed out whoever they wanted him to point out, 'Ishikawa' would die under suspicious circumstances so he could never take back his words and sometime later his wife and child's bodies would turn up somewhere, undoubtedly along with some clues pointing at whoever it was they were framing. Was this really the reason these people wanted to have Ishikawa Seiichi? To frame some other politician, maybe start a war or something? Was this what all his suffering had been for? Three jounin and a chuunin kept busy for weeks on end to stop a plan as lousy as this one?!

Of course if he really had been Ishikawa, he would probably be pretty desperate right now. Iruka had the comfort of knowing three incredibly strong men had his back. He tried to imagine how he'd feel if he was standing here with no hope for help, being made to choose between harming his village and losing the two people he loved most in this world…

Yes, he could imagine Ishikawa going along with this plan.

Some things still didn't add up though. _'People like me mean nothing to people like you'_ the guy said. It didn't sound as if this man was particularly rich or powerful. But bribing guards and hiring thugs cost money. A lot of money. Then there was the failed attempt to steal Leiko-chan away when they'd been traveling. Iruka hadn't seen the battle itself, but he'd heard enough to know that more than a few ninja had been involved. There was no way the man in front of him had the money to pay for such a large scale attack…which could only mean one thing, Iruka hadn't reached the top of this particular food chain yet.

"Who-" Iruka had to clear his throat because hardly any sound came out of his mouth, damn those little pills. "Who do you work for? I'll pay you double."

An unpleasant little smirk crossed the man's face. "I doubt you could."

The man didn't say any more. Iruka really hadn't expected him too. The man in front of him wouldn't have gotten his position by being loose-lipped.

Iruka had no idea what to do now. Should he go along with the plan to go back to the village? Did he even have any other option? If he didn't cooperate Nozomi and Leiko would be harmed and trying to escape would most likely end in disaster because without his chakra control he simply didn't have the strength to fight off another ninja.

His two guards were completely clueless though. He'd get no useful information out of them whatsoever. It was frustrating to have to leave behind the one person who could possibly lead him to however it was that was pulling the strings of this whole operation.

Most of all he simply hated having to leave Leiko and Nozomi in the company of these bastards. Who knew how long they'd wait before killing them? And he was sure they would. For all Iruka knew, they would slit the girls throats two seconds after Iruka left. They had served their purpose after all. You don't hang on to your hostages after you've already gotten what you want.

Damn it, where was his back up? He wanted some sign that they had caught up with him; that they could intervene if things really went to hell…

He was so deep in thought that he cried out in surprise when he was grabbed from behind and dragged over to Leiko and Nozomi.

"Spend a little time with them; see what you'll be missing."

He was thrown down roughly and nearly squashed Nozomi when she tried to break his fall. Two pairs of arms wrapped around him and held on for dear life. Leiko-chan was crying into his chest and Nozomi was covering his face with small kisses, hands gliding over his body in search of injuries. He squeezed the both of them tightly trying to reassure them with his presence and to keep up the act of a loving father and husband.

Finally Nozomi pulled back a little and looked into his eyes. She recoiled slightly, her eyes widening almost comically. Damn it! She'd recognized him. He pulled her back quickly and hugged her tightly, making a shushing sound as if he was simply comforting her instead of urging her to keep quiet. It was only natural, he supposed, for a woman to know her husbands features well enough to instantly recognize an imposter, but if she alerted the enemy it would be the death of them all. In his current state Iruka would never be able to fend them off.

After a moment he felt a small nod and he sagged a little in relief.

Nozomi pulled back again, took his face in her hands gently and stared at the cut on his cheek. "What did they do to you love?"

Iruka was about to reassure her when one of the men pulled him away again. Leiko was pulled away from him roughly and promptly burst into tears. With his arms still tied behind his back there was nothing he could do but watch helplessly as the kid was chucked back at Nozomi.

"Time to go, Ishikawa-san"

Iruka turned to look at the leader and hissed, "I'll get you back for this."

The man smiled his unpleasant smile and gripped Iruka's painful shoulder digging his fingers in hard. "You can try."

Without another word he was pushed back to his two bodyguards who turned to go.

Suddenly two men he hadn't seen before stepped into the clearing.

"What are you two doing here?" the leader barked. Iruka could hear the shock and nervousness in his voice. Not good.

"There's been a change of plans," one of the men said with obviously glee.

"What are you talking about?"

"Those two morons over there," the other new guy said, pointing at the men holding Iruka, "let one of the bodyguards get away. The village has been informed of the attack...our original plan won't work anymore."

"What?! You idiots!" the leader screamed furiously.

Iruka could feel the men holding him flinch. "It wasn't our fault! How were we-"

Suddenly the man standing to Iruka's left stopped talking and dropped to his knees. A shuriken was embedded deeply into his shoulder. Behind them Nozomi screamed.

Suddenly all hell broke loose. There was a small explosion and the air was filled with heat and smoke. The men standing next to him had disappeared and sounds of fighting were all around him.

On the ground he saw the vague contour of the still bloody shuriken. The man must have pulled it out and dropped it. Quickly Iruka sat down and lowered himself until his bound hands could reach the weapon. He turned it between his fingers and started sawing away at the rope. Come on, come on, come on…Yes! With one part cut his bonds loosened enough for him to get rid of the rest. Now he needed to get to Nozomi and Leiko.

If they could just get away from this place, he was sure he could get them to safety, Kakashi, Asuma and Ibiki _had_ to be close by now.

The acrid smoke stung his eyes and irritated his throat, but he was grateful for the cover it gave him. As quickly as he could without alerted someone to his presence he made his way over to where he'd last seen the girls.

They were gone.

Desperately he tried to search the ground for clues to what happened, but the mess of footprints on the ground made it nearly impossible. Had they made a run for it while their guards were distracted?

The smoke was slowly starting to clear and Iruka had to make a decision. If Nozomi and the kid were trying to escape he would do his best to give them a chance to reach his back-up, and that meant he had to distract whoever was left of this bunch of criminals.

Determinedly he turned and took off in the direction Nozomi had been least likely to go…up the mountain. This whole situation was a mess, and right now, with the original plan ruined, he didn't think the enemy would have any problem with simply killing 'Ishikawa'. But maybe, just maybe, if Iruka was fast enough and got far enough he could hold them up long enough to give Nozomi and Leiko a chance to reach safety.

The air burned in his lungs as he ran as hard as he could, jumping over bushes and scrambling over rocks. If only he had his chakra control back…Without it he couldn't make his feet stick to the surface of the rocks and he kept slipping.

Behind him the bushes rustled and with a heave Iruka pulled himself onto a particularly high rock formation, they almost-

"Oomph"

Air left his chest in a rush as he hit the ground, one of the strangers on his back. He struggled violently, trying to kick behind him, wanting to at least _hurt_ the man who had him pinned.

Then, a rough whisper near his ear made him freeze. "Are you enjoying this? You're lying a little too still."

Could it be? The words were almost too similar to be a coincidence. Hope flared and Iruka twisted to look.

For a fraction of a second the left eye of his captor glowed a deep red.

Kakashi! It had to be. No one else knew about that particular encounter.

The relief that spread through Iruka made him feel almost giddy and he went boneless underneath the jounin. Everything would be alright now.

At that moment the leader of the kidnappers appeared beside them on the rock.

Iruka flinched as Kakashi jerked him up roughly and twisted one arm behind his back, holding a kunai to his throat with the other hand. Apparently they weren't quite done acting yet.

The kunai pressed into the soft skin of his neck so hard that Iruka was afraid to swallow and at the same time Kakashi gently kept Iruka's hand behind his back, softly rubbing the inside of Iruka's wrist with his thumb. It was a strange combination of feelings.

"He's useless to the plan. Why wait?" Kakashi said coldly.

It was weird to hear a stranger's voice come out of Kakashi's mouth, even now the jounin didn't look like himself.

"No! Idiot! Hamura-san needs-"

Kakashi was gone so fast Iruka lost his balance and fell on his ass. The jounin reappeared behind their enemy and smiled a cold smile. "That's all we needed to know."

Iruka watched as Kakashi almost carelessly tapped a pressure point in the man's neck. The guy crumpled without a sound.

A second later Kakashi dropped the illusion and Iruka's lip twitched when the masked jounin simply stepped over the limp body at his feet and offered Iruka a hand to help him up.

"You alright?"

Iruka nodded and tried to speak. Nothing but a hoarse croak came out of his mouth and he had to clear his throat and try again. "Nozomi and Leiko-chan?"

Kakashi smiled his patented carefree smile and patted Iruka's good shoulder. "They should be safe."

Anger and worry welled up inside Iruka at the careless answer. "Should be?!" he smacked Kakashi's hand off his shoulder and turned away to hurry back where he came from and look for the girls. "Stupid bastard," he mumbled under his breath.

He was about to jump down the rock when he was grabbed and spun around. Kakashi was so close Iruka could feel the heat coming from his body and he had to crane his neck to look the jounin in the eye.

"Let me rephrase that, Iruka-sensei," there was nothing but seriousness in the jounin's eyes this time. "Nozomi-san and Leiko-chan are safe…Completely safe."

* * *

I'm so sorry it took me so long to write another chapter. And I'm quite sure this one sucked. Sorry 'bout that.


	12. Chapter 12

'Completely safe' the words echoed in Iruka's ears and he sagged in relief. His head fell forward, nearly touching the jounin's chest.

Kakashi wouldn't lie to him. Or well, he probably would…But not about something this important. Although he might lie by omission…Still if the jounin said the girls were safe, Iruka believed him. Mostly.

Kakashi let go of his arm and stepped back from him. Iruka suddenly felt cold. With the immediate danger out of the way and the adrenaline slowly leaving his system he became aware of his body again. His shoulder was throbbing, his cheek was stinging and there were various aches and pains all over his body. Damn it was cold. He shivered.

He watched as Kakashi bent down and searched the fallen enemy's body for weapons. A small pile grew next to the man as the jounin found several kunai and shuriken, a few explosive tags, a couple of scrolls and a few poisonous darts. Iruka recognized the color. P16.

He resisted the urge to kick the man…Barely.

Painfully he crouched down next to the jounin and started stuffing the pockets of Ishikawa's jacket with some of the weapons Kakashi had removed. He'd been feeling kind of naked without his own equipment. The explosive tags were particularly useful in his situation he figured. He might not have his usual speed and strength, but he could still chuck an explosive tag at someone's head.

Kakashi took a few of the kunai and all the scrolls and then lifted the unconscious man over his shoulder.

They had just jumped down the rock when Pakkun came rushing up to them. "All good," the pug said to Kakashi. The little dog turned to Iruka and looked him over with a critical eye. He turned his little flat nose up in the air and took a good sniff. Iruka wondered if he stank. He hadn't had a chance to wash up for days. A bath sounded pretty damn good right now. A warm bath, and a soft bed, and a hot meal…

"No poison this time." The pug nodded approvingly. He turned back towards Kakashi. "You can go on ahead; I'll walk Iruka-sensei to the camp."

Iruka smirked when Kakashi raised an eyebrow at the pug, before jumping up into the trees and disappearing. It was pretty funny to see a grown man being dismissed by his dog.

"Leiko seems to be okay you know," the pug said conversationally, "but if you want I can have Kakashi summon Fluffy to cheer her up again."

Iruka nodded absently.

"Is it over now?" he suddenly found himself asking. Maybe the pug would actually give him an honest answer.

Pakkun thought about it for a moment. "Your part in it is. The others…there are still some loose ends to tie up. It shouldn't involve you though, your job is done."

Iruka eyed the dog walking next to him. If Pakkun was in a sharing mood…"Tell me about Hamura-san."

Pakkun shot him a sharp look and shook his head. "He's a loose end. Not an unexpected one, simply unconfirmed until now. He'll be taken care of Iruka-kun."

So much for sharing…

For a moment Iruka wished he was back home with his students. Or sitting on his couch and reading a book. Or taking Naruto out for ramen. Anything. Right now he just wanted to _not_ fear for his life for a while. He sighed. He'd been a teacher for too long. He was getting soft. All in all this mission had gone really well so what was he complaining about?

"Are you alright?" Pakkun asked him softly.

Iruka smiled at him tiredly. "My shoulder hurts."

Pakkun gave him a doggy smirk. "And your face is bleeding."

"I'm nauseous."

"You're limping a little too."

"My throat hurts."

"Your hands are scratched."

"I'm tired."

"Your teeth are chattering."

"I've got grey streaks in my hair."

"Kakashi does that to people."

Iruka couldn't help but laugh.

"You did good Iruka-sensei." Pakkun said seriously.

Iruka took a deep breath and slowly let it out. He felt better. "Thank you, Pakkun."

They walked in silence until they reached the clearing where everyone was gathered. The bad guys seemed to be divided into two heaps…dead ones and unconscious ones, four in the first, three in the latter.

Nozomi and Leiko sat near the edge of the clearing looking right at the lifeless bodies, yet they showed no sign of shock or disgust. Another illusion, Iruka decided.

He greeted Asuma and Ibiki with a quick wave and made his way to the girls. When he was a few meters away from them, he turned and looked back at the pile of bodies. It was gone and in its place stood a large blooming Sakura tree. Bees were buzzing around the blossoms. It was a good illusion, if some what ridiculous this late in the year.

Nozomi looked up from the ground and saw him. Immediately she scrambled up and gave him a tight hug. He hissed when she accidentally pressed against his sore shoulder.

"Thank you, Iruka-san," she said, sounding like she meant it. He smiled at her, even though he didn't really know what she was thanking him for, after all he'd been doing a rather lousy job of rescuing them.

Leiko didn't move from her place on the floor so after a moment Iruka knelt down in front of her.

She looked at him with a defiant gleam in her eyes. "I knew from the start you weren't daddy."

"Of course you knew," Iruka nodded seriously, "but we sure did fool the enemy didn't we?"

Leiko thought about it for a second and then nodded, satisfied. "Does your cheek hurt?" she asked, reaching for his face with her small hands.

Iruka bent over obligingly, allowing her to touch his jaw. "Not really."

It did though. Stung like hell, but she didn't need to know that.

"Do you wanna play the word game?"

Iruka sighed inaudibly and got comfortable on the ground…As comfortable as he could get right now, anyway. "Sure"

Then Leiko did something he hadn't expected. She turned to Nozomi-san and pulled on her skirt to get the young woman to sit down. "We play it like this...First someone says an animal and then the other person has to say an animal that starts with the letter the first animal ended with, ok?"

Iruka and Nozomi shared a quick smile above Leiko's head. At least something good had come out of all of this.

They had only been playing for a little while when Asuma approached them. The jounin watched them silently for a few moments. "Time to go," he finally muttered, cigarette dancing in the corner in his mouth.

Iruka nodded and stiffly pushed himself up. "How are we going-"

"We'll walk."

Leiko didn't protest and Nozomi seemed happy to start for home, so they were soon on their way. Iruka wasn't surprised when Ibiki and Kakashi stayed behind. Interrogation and clean-up, of course they needed the girls out of the way.

After 15 minutes Leiko started to drag her feet so Iruka wrapped his good arm around her and lifted her up. She wasn't heavy; he could easily carry her for a while.

Or so he thought. Twenty minutes later, Leiko was asleep and Iruka's arm felt like it was going to fall off.

He could ask Asuma to take over of course, but somehow that felt a little like admitting defeat. Which was absolutely ridiculous, he reminded himself, he had nothing to prove. His arm was tired and he couldn't shift the girl to his other arm…Nothing wrong with that. There was nothing shameful about getting hurt on a mission.

Decision made, Iruka moved closer to the smoking jounin. "Asuma-san," he said softly, careful not to wake the sleeping girl, "Can you take her for a while? My arm feels like it's going to fall off." He smiled at the jounin apologetically.

Asuma looked at the sleeping girl on Iruka's right arm, and then looked at Iruka's limp left arm. The jounin's eyes widened almost comically and the cigarette dropped from his mouth. "Of course, Iruka-san. I'm sorry. Why didn't you- I should have-"

Iruka grinned, and Asuma blushed and scratched his head. Carefully the jounin lifted Leiko away from Iruka. "We're almost at the rendezvous point," he said gruffly, "we'll take care of your injuries as soon as we get there."

"They're not that bad," Iruka said, "just scrapes and bruises." And a broken shoulder, he added mentally. Although he was pretty sure it wasn't broken, really, just felt like it.

Despite Asuma's assurance that they were almost at the meeting point it took them nearly half an hour to get there. Thankfully Nozomi seemed to be keeping up pretty well. Aside from her bruises she didn't seem hurt in any way.

Iruka was surprised to see horses waiting for them…Surprised and happy. He didn't really feel like walking much further today. "Do we wait?" he asked Asuma.

The smoking jounin looked at the girls and then back at the mountain thoughtfully. "It will save a lot of time if we keep going now. There's…somewhere we have to be tonight and we'll need to escort the girls to a safe house first."

"Alright," Iruka said, "let's go then."

Asuma looked at Iruka's shoulder doubtfully. "Will you be alright to travel a while longer?"

Iruka nodded. As long as he didn't move his arm too much the pain wasn't too bad. And the sooner they delivered the girls the sooner he got somewhere where he could lay down and sleep.

Asuma took Leiko in front of him and Nozomi rode behind Iruka, careful not to touch his shoulder now she knew that it hurt him. Two hours later, when the sun was high up in the sky and warming Iruka through quite nicely, they reached a small cottage.

Before they even had a chance to get off the horses Ishikawa Seiichi came rushing out the door. "Nozi-chan, Leiko-chan!"

The man seemed genuinely relieved to see his wife and child. Maybe Iruka had judged him too harshly when they first met.

"Thank you, Iruka-san. Thank you so much."

Iruka smiled awkwardly as the politician thanked him. Why did people keep doing that? He'd done nothing but let himself be kidnapped. After that he'd been pretty much useless.

Goodbyes were said quickly, Leiko promising to write him and Nozomi promising to help Leiko actually do so. Iruka figured there would probably be a letter waiting for him when he got home.

When they were on their way again Asuma told him that the family would be guarded by Star shinobi, loyal ones this time, until, in Asuma's words, 'we've got some shit out of the way.'

Iruka wondered if by 'shit' he meant Hamura-san.

They rode north-west for an hour and Iruka noticed that Asuma became increasingly nervous as time went by. The cigarette in the corner of the jounin's mouth twitched restlessly and his eyes moved around rapidly, searching.

Iruka figured Kakashi and Ibiki were taking longer than planned. He hoped they were alright.

"You can go back if you want," he offered. "I can wait here. Or keep going in this direction."

Asuma smiled at him but shook his head. "I can't leave you to fend for yourself."

Iruka was about to object, but the jounin continued. "You can't control your chakra and you're injured. There's no way you could defend yourself against an attack right now. Any attack."

Iruka guessed the man had a point, but still… "Nobody wants me."

Asuma grinned and Iruka realized how those words sounded. He could feel a blush creeping up his face. "I mean- Nobody wants to hurt me. I'm just-" me… He decided to shut up before he made a complete fool out of himself.

A little while later Asuma relaxed and though Iruka didn't see anyone around, he guessed that the other two members of their little party had arrived and were keeping out of sight like they had at the beginning of their journey.

Iruka wondered how long they would keep going like this. They'd already been riding for a couple of hours and he was really starting to get tired. A couple of times he'd felt his eyes trying to close. It just wouldn't do. He was a ninja, a Konoha chuunin...if he fell asleep now and took a tumble off his horse he would never hear the end of it.

Still, he was tempted to close his eyes…just for a little while. They felt so heavy and by now the sun was so bright that it made his head hurt.

Suddenly the air and the ground started to move in a slow, sick spin. Had they walked into an illusion? He should warn the others. Had to…warn the others…but then the edge of his vision started turning black until it seemed like the sky was so so very far away. He tried to call out to the others, but his throat wouldn't cooperate. He hoped they would be alright. And then the last tiny pinpoint of light disappeared.

* * *

Iruka slowly became aware of a strange rocking motion. Why was he moving? And for that matter, why was he sitting? He didn't want to be sitting, he wanted to lie down. Lie down and sleep.

He couldn't sleep while he was sitting. His head felt heavy, like his neck wasn't strong enough to keep it upright. He let it drop back. It landed on something uneven, something moving. And gravity kept pulling it forward again. But forward didn't work either; there was nothing to lean on in front of him. What had he been thinking, trying to sleep like this?

Maybe if he moved, he could get into a more comfortable position, preferably lying down. He tried to twist his upper body.

Suddenly the moving thing he was leaning against shifted and Iruka shifted with it. His head fell back and this time gravity left it alone. This was better. He could sleep like this. The rocking motion became soothing and a slow rhythmic thumping beneath his ear lulled him back to sleep.

* * *

Hi guys, thanks for all the comments I've gotten. I love reading them :D

This chapter is shorter than the last one, but I won't have the chance to write anymore this weekend so I figured I would just put it out there.


	13. Chapter 13

The next time Iruka woke up it was with a much clearer head. Before he'd even opened his eyes he realized he was leaning on someone and they were riding a horse. For a moment the thought popped into his mind that the jounin must have beaten whoever it was that made them walk into an illusion. And then he realized there had been no such thing. He'd passed out, plain and simple.

Blood rushed to his face at the thought. He'd fainted…what was he? A civilian?

"Welcome back."

Iruka felt the voice the same time he heard it. Reluctantly he opened his eyes and looked up, seeing only black cloth.

He was resting against Kakashi's chest.

The jounin was leaning back in the saddle at an angle which left Iruka in a surprisingly comfortable position, but had to be absolute murder on Kakashi's abs.

Embarrassed about causing trouble, Iruka tried to shift so he could sit upright, but Kakashi's arm around him prevented it.

"I can-," Iruka mumbled, but then he stopped. He was going to say 'ride alone', but that meant Kakashi would have to go back to walking. How rude. "I can walk."

Not that that option held such great appeal for Iruka…he was still pretty tired.

"No you can't." Ibiki spoke up from somewhere on Iruka's left. It was said with such certainty that Iruka felt his blush intensify.

He felt compelled to defend his honor. "I don't usually pass out after missions."

"This wasn't just any mission."

_Oh come on…_ "All I had to do was sit and wait for someone to kidnap me." He sighed. "I've been a teacher for too long. I'm getting soft." There. He'd said it. Better to do it himself than to wait for them to do it. He was sure they were thinking it.

"Iruka-san," Ibiki said, "Within the time span of five days, you received two doses of a strong poison, had your chakra sealed, ate several toxic pills to induce symptoms of throat infection, were given a strong sedative and broke your clavicle. It was probably sheer force of will that kept you going as long as you did."

_Oh._ When the man put it like that…it did seem a bit much to- Wait a minute. "My clavicle is broken?"

"Not anymore." It sounded from above his head.

Iruka tipped his head back to see the jounin's face. "You fixed it?"

"Ibiki-san did. He's very proficient with healing jutsu." Kakashi sounded amused.

_Oh._ "I thought he'd be more the 'breaking things' type," Iruka mumbled.

Ibiki chuckled. A low dangerous sound that made Iruka want to hide. "You can only break so many bones in a person's body before they lose consciousness."

"Why don't you just break one bone and move the limb around a lot?"

Iruka couldn't believe he'd actually said that.

"That would grind the bone ends together. It's certainly an efficient way to cause pain, but it will also cause permanent damage. We hesitate to do that on the off chance someone actually _is_ innocent. Besides, healing the bone and then breaking it again in the same place, time and time again, will have even the most stoic men spilling their guts. It's the anticipation of the next time that breaks them."

Iruka swallowed and Kakashi snorted.

Iruka didn't think it was particularly funny. What Konoha did, other countries did too, and he couldn't help but imagine one of his students in a situation like that.

He purposely banned the thought from his mind and promptly remembered his manners. "Thank you, Ibiki-san."

"No problem," the jounin answered gruffly. "But I'm not Tsunade-sama, you'll have to be careful with your shoulder for a while."

Iruka nodded. If everything went like it was supposed to, he wouldn't have to do any fighting anyway. It went a little against his nature but he was just going to sit this out and relax. Like Pakkun said, he'd done his job.

The sunlight had stopped making his head hurt, but it made him feel warm and sleepy and he caught his eyes trying to close again. He tried once more to sit up so he'd have more of an incentive to stay awake, but once again Kakashi stopped him. The jounin's arm was like a steel band across his stomach. Iruka gave up and relaxed back against the man's chest, and as he did Kakashi's hold loosened until his arm was just a warm heavy weight.

Iruka was drowsing, drifting in and out of sleep. Flashes from the mission and his life back home combined with images that just didn't make any sense, all swirling together into vague half waking dreams.

One time, one of his kidnappers was right there in Konoha, laughing madly as he pushed Iruka off the Hokage building. Iruka twitched awake at the sensation of falling.

His senses instantly assured him all was well and he was already drifting towards sleep again when Kakashi's hand started a slow circling, scratching motion on Iruka's side.

Iruka assumed it was meant to be comforting, but the tingling feelings, caused by the soft touch, were not particularly relaxing. In fact, if Kakashi's hand dropped any lower on his hip, Iruka was afraid that some parts of him would be doing the complete opposite of relaxing.

With their bodies pressed close as they were, the jounin had to be aware that his touch was…well…not exactly putting Iruka to sleep again. Yet he didn't stop.

Iruka wasn't sure if he wanted him to.

He wondered if the other two jounin had noticed the…what? Touching? Stroking? _Petting?_

They must have. They were jounin.

How embarrassing.

Although of course, since they weren't the ones being 'petted', they might actually be focusing their attention outwards, on the lookout for enemies, instead of on their comrades.

And what if they did notice? Was it really that bad? It was Kakashi who was touching _him_ after all. If anyone should be embarrassed it should be Kakashi. Iruka was simply an injured team mate_…laying there with butterflies in his stomach over a touch that was probably meant to be simple comfort_ _and-_

"If you think any louder the enemy will hear." It suddenly sounded above his head. The comment was followed by amused snorts from his left and right. Iruka felt his cheeks grow hot. Of course they'd know he was awake.

Trying to save the last of his dignity he opened his eyes and smiled cheerfully. "I was hoping to fall back asleep if I kept my eyes closed, but it's no use. I'm too awake now." He was almost proud of the sincerely regretful tone he managed.

Behind him he felt Kakashi chuckle soundlessly.

_Comfort, my ass! _That bastard jounin knew exactly what he was doing.

A sudden flush of anger ran through Iruka. If Kakashi wanted to tease…he'd better be prepared to be teased in return.

Iruka leaned forward, ignoring the way Kakashi's arm slipped down to his lap. And then he stretched, rolling his hips, arching his back deeply and moaning softly in satisfaction like he'd been longing to do it for weeks. "I feel much better."

Iruka was gratified by the lack of sarcastic and/or amused comments from the three jounin. Now if only he could learn to execute moves like that without blushing.

Ignoring the voice in his head that was screaming at him that he couldn't possibly be acting the way he was, he went for the final blow. He forcibly relaxed his muscles and dropped back against Kakashi's chest. "Kakashi-san?" he asked in his most sincere 'jounin-sama please grant me this request'-voice, "Would you mind if I borrowed your book for a while longer? I didn't get to finish it and I'd like to see if Yuki gets what he wants…"

To his right, Asuma choked as he bit his cigarette in two.

Iruka didn't know what exactly he'd hoped to achieve, but he was pretty sure it wasn't what he got.

Kakashi's arm tightened around him again, pulling him back; ostensibly to make sure he was firmly seated on the horse, but with the added effect of having Iruka's behind planted firmly between Kakashi's thighs.

He swallowed when the jounin's fingers started to move again, this time stroking just below Iruka's belly-button.

The jounin's head loomed over his shoulder and when he spoke he sounded perfectly polite and care-free. Still…the voice right next to his ear sent a shiver down Iruka's spine. "Of course you can borrow it, Iruka-sensei. You can keep it even. I've finished it already."

For the briefest of moments Kakashi's fingers slid lower. "I know _exactly_ how it ends."

Two seconds later the presence behind him disappeared, leaving him by himself on the horse.

Iruka stared at the ground in front of the horse, face burning hot. He didn't want to look at the other two jounin, didn't want to see the amusement that was sure to be in their eyes. This was what he got for trying to embarrass one of Naruto's pervert-sensei's.

But despite his embarrassment a small part of him felt a little thrill at the exchange and the corners of his mouth seemed to want to pull up of their own accord.

* * *

It was an hour and a half later when they arrived at a village. Iruka looked around curiously as he followed the jounin through the center. He was a bit surprised that they weren't taking any measures to disguise their presence. Was that wise?

Maybe the jounin were trying to lure someone out? Or maybe they were confident enough to think no one could connect them to the death of the criminals in the forest…Not that there were any bodies left to be found of course, or any evidence for that matter. But if some kind of crime-lord was living around here, surely he would connect the lack of communication from his men to the sudden presence of three of Konoha's finest?

Very soon they'd crossed straight through the village and…kept going. Bewildered Iruka looked back as Ibiki, who was in front, guided them into the forest again. He sighed. Apparently his teammates found it necessary for some reason to show their faces in that village. Iruka wasn't even going to try to understand it anymore.

Thankfully they didn't have to travel much longer. One moment they were riding, well…he and Ibiki were riding…through the forest and the next moment the forest gave way to a clearing and one of the most beautiful buildings Iruka had ever seen. The large wooden structure was elegantly decorated, with many pillars supporting its curved roof, and the gardens surrounding it were beautifully kept.

The bad guy lived here? How utterly unfair was that.

Iruka shook his head. He couldn't help it, once again he was wondering what was going on. If there was an enemy here shouldn't they be approaching a little more carefully?

The Jounin didn't seem to hesitate at all though; in fact they seemed to be rather pleased to have arrived at their destination.

Iruka followed Ibiki's example and stepped down from the horse, glad to stretch his legs even though they ached a little. Two teenagers came rushing out of the building, bowing politely and reaching for the horses. It was only then that Iruka started to realize they were at an inn.

He followed his companions inside trying not to stare too much at the beautiful artwork. They were greeted by an older man, most likely the owner, Iruka thought. The man gave them a short explanation of the layout and the facilities and Iruka could almost kiss him when he talked about the large bathhouse that was part of the inn.

He couldn't believe they were actually going to stay there.

After the explanation Ibiki and the owner bowed again and then Iruka's eyes grew large as a shocking amount of money exchanged hands. He would never be able to pay for his part! Not even after getting paid for this mission.

Asuma was standing closest to him and Iruka tapped him on the shoulder. "Asuma-san", he whispered frantically, "I can't afford to stay here."

The jounin, for once without his cigarette, smiled at him and patted his back. "Don't worry Iruka-san. Ishikawa decided to show his appreciation by giving us a little extra outside of the normal mission fees."

"Oh" Iruka said intelligently. _That was nice of him_. That was…totally not something Konoha ninja should accept. There were rules about that sort of thing; they could get in trouble over this. Taking money or big gifts from clients was frowned upon. It could create jealousy between ninja's, it-

It meant Iruka was going to get to take a hot bath…

Screw the rules. Nobody outside of the four of them and Ishikawa knew they'd gotten it, and after spending the night here the money was all gone anyway. Nothing for other ninja to be jealous about.

_And I'm taking a hot bath!_

* * *

Once again, thanks to all of you who left me a comment. I love them.


	14. Chapter 14

Iruka slid into the hot, steaming water of the large bath with a sigh. The heat did wonders for tense muscles and gave him a feeling of comfort he'd sorely missed during this mission. He gazed upwards into the starry night sky. _Beautiful._

It was a little disappointing that his jounin companions wouldn't be joining him though.

Once again Iruka was being kept out of the loop. They had all settled into their rooms and then, out of the blue, with little more than a 'stay here' and an 'enjoy the baths', they had left him alone and wandered off, probably to do whatever the hell they were planning on doing to that Hamura guy.

He'd watched them go with a mixture of annoyance and envy. Completely irrational, he knew, it wasn't like he could be of any use to them. And that was just the thing. Iruka hated feeling useless.

Another sigh escaped him before he consciously pushed the depressing thoughts out of his mind. He'd done his job he reminded himself, and rather well too, if Pakkun was to be believed. He deserved a little comfort and relaxation, even if it was to be by himself.

Sinking into the water a little deeper, he concentrated on consciously relaxing each muscle of his body in turn. He was going to get the most out of his stay here.

Slowly Iruka became aware of voices in the distance, gradually travelling closer. It wasn't the jounin, he decided, they wouldn't make so much noise. It certainly was a group though…with at least four different people, judging from the voices and the laughter. Cheery bunch, Iruka decided, probably drunk like hell.

The corners of his mouth involuntarily twitched upwards into a grin. He remembered many a night like that, with Izumo, Kotetsu, Genma and Raidou. Kotetsu was a riot after you fed him some sake, and Raidou had a surprisingly good singing voice, if you got him drunk enough to start. Good memories.

They'd all been busy lately. When he got back, Iruka decided, he was going to pick a day and his friends all better make sure they were available, because they were going to get ragingly drunk together, busy schedule or no. It had been too long…and with the ninja lifestyle, you never knew when it was your last chance to do something…before it was too late. When the time came that one of friends wouldn't be coming back from a mission, Iruka wanted to be able to remember the last time they went out and had fun, not the last time he'd put his friends off because he had papers to grade.

The loud voices of the approaching men were starting to get a little distracting, so Iruka slid lower and tipped his head back, leaving his ears under water. _Ah. Blessed quiet._ It wasn't something he would normally do when he was outside of Konoha, but he was fairly sure the jounin would not have left him on his own if they weren't sure he was completely safe. Besides he'd hidden two kunai and an explosive tag in a hole underneath the decorative rock behind him. Just in case. He snickered at his own paranoia. But like his teachers had always told him, better safe than sorry.

When he sensed a presence some time later he sat up just in time to see a group of five men amble into the bathing area. They were loud, and boisterous, and still dry. They hadn't even showered yet. _How rude_. Without any consideration for the other occupant of the shallow pool they jumped in. He didn't think they'd even noticed he was there. Iruka cleared his throat. "Good evening," he said. Better to let them know right away that they weren't alone in the pool.

As soon as the men turned to look at him he regretted his choice.

"Oi Look at this, guys, this place really does provide everything." The remark was made by a thin, pale, black-haired man, and accompanied by a nasty grin.

"How about that…Free amusement." Another man said with a snicker. The others cheered loudly.

Iruka reached out for the robe the inn had provided. It was time for him to go back to his room. He didn't like the way this group looked or acted. Maybe if he left quickly enough they wouldn't bother him.

He'd lifted himself halfway out the water when a strong arm snaked around his waist and jerked him back. "Aw you're not leaving yet are you?" The skinny guy smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes.

"I've been in here a long time already," Iruka said, trying to sound pleasant, even though his skin was crawling from being pressed against the other guy. "I'll leave you with your friends. Have a nice evening." Iruka prayed silently that his concise words would make them back off. From the way the man had moved earlier, from one side of the pool to the other before Iruka could hoist himself out of the water, it was obvious that the guy was a ninja. Maybe not extremely skilled but trained nonetheless. If things got ugly, he wouldn't be able to defend himself, not in his current state.

The man next to Iruka didn't seem at all deterred though, and the group that was still on the other side of the bath probably wasn't inclined to help Iruka.

"I want to leave. If you don't let go of me I'm going to have to call the owner."

His words were met with derisive laughter. "And what do you think the old man would do? Or do you think those two servant kids are gonna throw us out? No one here but those three. And you, and us."

"My companions-"

"Don't seem to be here right now."

The guy grabbed Iruka's jaw in a vicelike grip and forcibly turned his face so he could look Iruka in the eye. After a few seconds the bruising hold loosened and the man slid his hand lower, over Iruka's throat, squeezing threateningly, then down grazing a nipple and further down, disappearing into the water.

Iruka's heart beat like crazy. He had to do something. Now. With the man feeling him up, Iruka's arms were free to move and with all the strength he had he jammed his elbow into the guy's stomach.

He knew this was his only chance. While the guy was doubled over, grunting in pain, and his drunken buddies laughed at him, Iruka hoisted himself up and out and dove desperately for the rock with his kunai and the explosive tag.

He reached them and turned, scrambling up. The black-haired guy was standing before him with a dangerous look on his face that only darkened further when he saw the kunai in Iruka's hand. What was worse, the others were climbing out of the bath too.

Iruka cursed his decision to pick the spot of the pool furthest away from the door to the bedrooms. He might be able to skirt around one or two guys, but he'd never be able to avoid five of them in his current state even if they were drunk. Damnit! Why hadn't Kakashi removed that damned seal before leaving? He could have kicked their asses without breaking a sweat.

_Stay calm_, he reminded himself. _Think rationally_. He couldn't fight them. There was only one other option. He fingered the explosive tag in his hand. If he threw it into the pool, there would be a huge splash but the damage would hopefully be minimal.

Decision made, he flicked his thumb nail over the seal and waited a few seconds, never taking his eyes of the men that were slowly approaching, and then he threw.

He saw the recognition in their eyes and watched them clumsily dive for cover. Iruka turned, snatched his robe up and ran, jumping over a low fence and taking off towards the forest. Hiding out would be his only chance of getting away from them.

He didn't turn around to see if they were following, it would only cost him precious seconds. When he reached the forest edge he simply kept running, ignoring the pain in his bare feet as he stepped on branches and stones. One time he slipped, landing on his hands and knees in the mud, but he was unhurt. He crawled up and kept running.

Finally he decided he was far away enough and dropped down behind a bush. He listened intently for sounds of his followers.

The forest stayed eerily silent, except for the sound of his own harsh breathing.

Moments passed slowly, and after what seemed like an eternity the normal sounds of a forest at night started again. An owl hooted, crickets chirped. And Iruka finally relaxed enough to wrap the robe around his naked form. It was wet and dirty from his fall, but at least it covered him.

_Now what? _

Going back seemed too risky, even if they hadn't followed, they'd sure be on the look out for him.

He needed to find his companions. Or maybe wait until they found him. The jounin would have no trouble finding him if they got back and he wasn't there. It wasn't like he'd been able to erase his trail; they should be able to track him easily.

But what if it took them the entire night to return? Already he was starting to shiver from the cold.

_What a mess__..._

Maybe he could make his way to the other side of the inn and sneek back in unseen. Then he could at least get dressed and he'd be able to snatch the rest of the explosive tags. Yes, he decided. _Anything is better than simply sitting here freezing to death_.

Slowly Iruka started to move through the forest, careful not to make too much noise, even though by now he was pretty sure that the group of malicious drunks had stayed at the inn.

He'd been walking for about ten minutes when he saw a light. He froze and stared hard. It was a fire. With three figures sitting around it. One of them had wild white hair, and another one periodically moved a glowing pinpoint up to his mouth and back.

It had to be them! How many groups of three could there possibly be with one whitehaired guy and one chainsmoker. The large hulking shape seated with his back against a tree just had to be Ibiki.

Iruka send a little prayer to the gods, for once they seemed to be taking pity on him. Relieved that the solution to his problems came so easily, he started making his way towards the jounin.

He was maybe thirty feet away from them when he stopped. He simply stopped. For the life of him he didn't know why, but if there was one thing he could trust it was that his instinct were almost never wrong.

He stayed frozen, hardly daring to breathe...and then he realized. They hadn't noticed him yet. Hadn't shown any indication that they knew he was there. Iruka hadn't been quiet in his approach... They had no reason to ignore him. For that matter, they had no reason to sit by a campfire, fifteen minutes away from the inn where they had warm rooms and good food.

Iruka didn't know what was going on, but something inside of him was screaming at him to turn around and get as far away from that campfire as possible.

As silently as he could he turned and started to move away. He kept his breathing shallow, trying to be as quiet as possible. Suddenly there didn't seem to be any clear patches on the forest floor...wherever he stepped twigs snapped and leaves rustled. Thorny bushes clung to his robe and snapped back noisily after he'd moved past them.

It felt like hours had passed before he could no longer see the light of the campfire when he looked back and for maybe the first time in his life, Iruka was glad for the darkness.

* * *

AN: Ya'll were expecting a different kind of action in the bath, weren't you? Come on... Admit it!

Once again, sorry it took so long. Thank you guys for all the nice comments, I really appreciate it. The next chapter is half written and I personally really like where it's going, so it shouldn't take me very long to update this time.


	15. Chapter 15

For a long time the forest was eerily quiet but then the sounds started, coming from the vicinity of the campfire. _Shit…_

The noises came closer and then moved away again. Definitely sounds of a battle. Iruka decided he had two options. Run or hide. He could take his chances and try to get back to the inn. But that would undoubtedly mean drawing attention to himself. There was no way he would be able to run silently right now. Or… he could hide and hope for the best.

As soon as he got out of this mess he was going to demand that Kakashi take the damn seal off. Enough was enough.

He made his decision and sank down on the ground between a thick tree and a low bush and burrowed as much into the ground as he could without making any noise. He was sitting this one out…

Sounds of battle moved closer and away again. He could smell the smoke from far away explosions and hear the sounds of trees crashing down. As the battle lasted and nobody discovered him Iruka began to feel more secure in his hideout.

Until the sound of breaking branches quickly and unavoidably came in his direction. Someone was flying through the canopy towards him at great speed…

Seconds later an unfamiliar ninja landed hard on his back only a few feet away from him. Iruka stayed frozen, but the ninja turned his head, dazedly looking around. He saw the man's eyes widen when he spotted him. _Damn_.

Iruka smiled apologetically at the stranger and brought the blunt end of his kunai down on the man's head one, two, three times. Not fatal, but the guy wouldn't be waking up any time soon. He felt a little bad about having to incapacitate someone when he wasn't entirely sure they were the enemy, but situations like this called for quick decisions and whoever wasn't a known friend…

He shook his head. Time to relocate. Someone was going to come looking for this guy if he didn't return.

As quietly as he could he started moving away. He paused often, listening intently for sounds of other people nearby. Of course, what he would do if he actually ran into someone…he didn't know. And then something- no someone – dashed past him and Iruka threw his kunai before he'd even realized he was going to.

Bad decision. Without chakra to add strength to his throw the weapon flew too slowly and it missed his intended target by miles. Iruka turned to start running but stopped before he'd taken a step. Kakashi was standing in front of him, one eyebrow pulled up. His whole demeanour said 'Iruka-sensei, you've got some explaining to do...'

Iruka was about to speak, relieved that he'd been found by a companion and not the enemy when something shimmered in the moonlight and buried itself deeply into the copy-nin's head. Iruka had one moment of complete horror and then the body disappeared, leaving only a puff of white smoke.

_Clone_.

The relief that washed over him was short-lived as an arm wrapped around him from behind and he was lifted of his feet. And then the forest scenery was flashing past him. His legs dangled uselessly in the air and his ribcage felt like it was going to crack from the pressure on it. Iruka tried to reach back and get a hold of who was carrying him, but the massive shoulder gave him little purchase.

It lasted only moments before Iruka was unceremoniously dumped into a ditch, he stumbled and fell on his ass in the mud. A large, hulking shape towered above him_. Ibiki_.

"Wait here"

The jounin managed to sound gruff even when he whispered.

The next second the man was gone and Iruka slumped down further in the ditch. Was Ibiki mad at him? Would the others be? Iruka suddenly found himself remembering their words when they'd left him at the inn. '_Stay here',_ the words had sounded so casual at the time that he hadn't really considered them to be an order.

He suddenly felt like smacking himself. He'd handled this badly.

Iruka could only hope that his interruption hadn't disadvantaged the jounin…and that the man he'd knocked unconscious was indeed an enemy and not an ally that he didn't know about.

The cold, muddy bank he was resting against was extremely uncomfortable, but Iruka didn't move a muscle. He was told to wait, and this time he was going to follow orders.

Time seemed to move extremely slowly and it felt like hours had gone bye before Iruka finally heard a sound above him. He scrambled up at the sight of the three jounin. They did not look pleased. Even Asuma who always managed to look pleasant, had a serious expression on his face.

Damn it, Iruka thought to himself, this should never have happened. He should have been able to deal with the drunken group. Shouldn't have stayed in the bath as long as he did. He should have expected trouble as soon as the he'd heard that the men were drunk. He should have doubled back to the inn and locked himself in his room instead of going for the forest. There were so many things he should and could have done. Instead he'd completely ignored his orders and-

"Maa…Iruka-sensei. Why were you running around the forest in a bathrobe?" Kakashi muttered. He sounded tired.

Asuma blinked and only now seemed to notice Iruka's state of undress. He made a few hand symbols, slapped his hands together and mumbled something and suddenly a bright light lit up the dark forest. Iruka shielded his eyes, momentarily blinded, and when he lowered his hand he wished he hadn't. The three jounin were studying him intently. His dark blue bathrobe was wet and muddy, clinging to his body and Iruka suddenly felt pretty ridiculous standing in a ditch, up to his ankles in the mud.

"I umm…" Iruka trailed off, he didn't really know what to say. He could say he got attacked in the bathhouse, but he didn't know if he could call it an attack really…and he could say that he got molested…except those words just didn't want to come out of his mouth. He finally settled on "A couple of new guests arrived at the inn. They were pretty drunk…"

To Iruka's relief his companions seemed to draw their own conclusions from that remark and the didn't question him any further. With Ibiki's help he scrambled out of the ditch and stood there shivering. Up close he could see that the jounin weren't looking too good themselves either. Both Asuma and Ibiki had makeshift bandages on arms and legs and Kakashi was looking almost ghostly pale.

Iruka found himself extremely tempted to ask about what had happened, but if they were allowed to give him the details of this mission they would have done so by now. It was better not to embarrass himself or his companions by asking questions they wouldn't answer anyway. They had obviously won, or they wouldn't be standing here so relaxed, and that was going to have to be enough.

"What now?" Iruka asked.

Asuma answered him. "We're going back to the inn, and tomorrow," he threw a quick glance at Kakashi, "or the day after, we head back to Konoha. The mission has been successfully completed."

The four of them started on their way back to the inn. Nobody talked and the air felt a little tense around them but Iruka didn't feel like breaking the silence. Usually when he just came back from an intense mission the last thing he wanted to do was talk. Even writing the mission report was an annoyance. He didn't begrudge his companions this quiet time to get their thoughts in order.

Iruka was surprised with how quickly they reached the clearing where the inn was located. They'd never been all that far away from it apparently. As they came closer they could hear loud talking and cheering from inside. The drunks hadn't left yet.

Suddenly Iruka felt guilty about leaving the owner and the servant kids alone with the group, it simply hadn't occurred to him at the time that they might be in danger too.

When they walked in they immediately spotted the group. They'd made a complete mess of the bar area. Glass and booze was scattered around and one of the tables had been broken. The owner of the inn and the servant were nowhere in sight. Iruka hoped that was a good thing.

The five men by now were hardly a threat any more with the extra booze they'd obviously consumed and Asuma and Ibiki made quick work of them while Kakashi and Iruka waited. Those guys were going to be in a world of hurt tomorrow Iruka thought, grimly pleased, Ibiki knew just how to touch for maximum pain infliction.

After Ibiki and Asuma dumped the incapacitated guys in the stables, Iruka was about to go search for the missing owner when a couple of floor boards rose up and one of the servants hesitantly looked around the place. They'd hidden in the basement. Iruka nodded in approval. _Good decision._ "It's alright, you can come out now." He assured them.

The two servants appeared first and the owner climbed out last. They looked a little rumpled but otherwise unharmed.

The older man thanked the jounin profusely for getting rid of the drunken group, bowing deeply for each of them. When he reached Iruka, he looked him up and down with a displeased expression and Iruka suddenly remembered how he looked. He scratched his nose in embarrassment. "I ruined your robe…and ummm your bath. I'm sorry. I'll pay for it."

The old man bowed deeply and shook his head fervently. "No _I _am sorry. This should not have happened here. You should have been left in peace. Many treaties are in place to make sure this is a safe place for all who come here. If the villages..." the man hesitated for a moment, "if the villages have _business_ it is not conducted on the grounds of this establishment." The man looked proud for a moment before his face fell again. "If I can manage to keep village politics of our grounds I should have been able to turn a bunch of violent drunks away."

Iruka looked at the elderly man and shook his head. "How?" he asked softly. "There were five of them…trained men, in their prime. You could not have done anything."

The man sighed. "Normally, it would not be a problem. But my son and his-" The man glanced at the three jounin nervously. "his friend… are away right now. They are ninja you know." The man seemed to swell with pride. "They are retired, but still very strong. Usually if there is a bad crowd they take care of it. But I thought maybe they would like some time toge- …some time away from here. So I told them to take a vacation. It's usually quiet this time of year. I sincerely apologize"

Iruka reached out and gently squeezed the older man's shoulder. "You have nothing to be sorry for. You have been a generous host and nothing that happened was in any way a fault of yours. If anyone should apologize it should be me, for leaving you and those kids alone with them."

The man smiled. "There was nothing you could have done," he echoed Iruka's words, "And don't worry about any damage. I know where those men are from and the leader of their village will pay." The older men grinned at him. "He won't be pleased about it either. Tonight will not be the only punishment those men will be receiving."

After their conversation the servants got to work cleaning up the mess and Iruka was presented with a new robe. As he and his companions made their way to their rooms, Iruka remembered a promise he'd made to himself in the forest.

He turned and faced the copy-nin determinedly. "Kakashi-san, the mission is completed. Please take off the seal now."

Kakashi scratched his head and smiled at him. "Can't it-"

Iruka shook his head. Who knew what could happen over night? Maybe he was being paranoid but this mission he'd fallen from one surprise in the other and none of them had been very pleasant. He was not going to let himself be put in another situation where he couldn't defend himself. "No. Take it off. Now."

Ibiki and Asuma exchanged an odd glance and suddenly Iruka started to worry. "What? Why are you just standing there?! I want it _off_!"

Finally Kakashi spoke up. "I can't."

Not the answer Iruka wanted to hear.

He could feel his heart starting to race and his palms began to sweat. "You can't?!" He hated how panicked he sounded. But if the jounin couldn't take the seal off. His chakra control…the rest of his life…"You said it was completely reversible!"

"Actually, I said it should-"

Anger took over. "You asshole! How could you do this?!" The only thing that stopped Iruka from attacking Kakashi was Ibiki's heavy hand landing on his shoulder and holding him back.

Kakashi's expression turned distant and cold. "Taking a seal off can be more difficult than putting it on in the first place Iruka-sensei. I don't want to risk damaging your control permanently. Jiraiya is much more experienced-"

"Jiraiya?" Iruka said, hope blossoming. "He can take it off?"

"Of course, he has much more experience with seals than I do… …you didn't think-"

Iruka didn't wait for the jounin to finish his sentence. He turned his back to the three men and walked to his room.

When he closed the door behind him he let himself fall back against it and he slid down slowly until he sat on the floor. His eyes burned and when he blinked a tear ran down his cheek. He wiped it away quickly.

It wasn't permanent…Jiraiya would be able to take it away…

Iruka didn't think he'd ever felt this panicked and this relieved in such a short time span.

With a sigh he pushed himself up and walked to the shower. He stood under the spray for a long time, staring at the wall, letting the water warm him up and wash away the grime and mud. Finally he forced himself to get out. He dried himself off mechanically, put on a pair of boxers and laid down on his bed. It was large and comfortable and Iruka knew he should sleep to recover from all the shocks he had this night, but all he could do was lay there and stare at the ceiling.

He was startled when the door suddenly opened. "Go away", he muttered. When he got no answer he sat up to look at who was bothering him.

Before him sat Pakkun and three other dogs. One of them was a huge bulldog; another had a sort of Mohawk on his head. The third had bandages around its neck and was brown and white.

"Hello again, Iruka-sensei." Pakkun said.

Iruka frowned. "Pakkun what are you doing here?"

"The brat is testing a hypothesis."

"What hypothesis?" Iruka said irritably.

"If it works once…"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I told you the age difference was too big." The one with the Mohawk muttered.

"Oh shush!" The bandaged one said. "You give up too easily." It jumped onto the bed.

"Hey" Iruka said indignantly. Then he shut up because the dog was looking at him with big doe-like eyes.

Pakkun heaved a put upon sigh and joined the other dog on the bed. He boldly walked up to Iruka, stepped onto his legs, tuned in a circle and then sat down in Iruka's lap. "You can pet me." He said, as if it was the greatest gift in the world.

Iruka sighed. "Come on guys. I don't know what Kakashi put you up to, but just leave okay? I want to go to sleep."

The dog with the Mohawk turned to the bulldog who hadn't moved or spoken yet. "It's not working."

The bulldog seemed to think it over. "Maybe we need Hector."

Iruka couldn't help but be curious. "Who's Hector?"

Pakkun looked at him. "You've met. He's very fluffy."

And suddenly Iruka knew what Kakashi was trying. That ass…How could he think Iruka would simply forget everything just because a couple of dogs were…sitting on his bed…looking at him…making absurdly large googly eyes.

Iruka laughed. He couldn't help it. And he laughed even harder when his laughter caused the dogs to look as if they were about to 'high five'. Every time his laughter was starting to die down one of the dogs would widen his eyes at him and he'd start off again.

He laughed until his ribs ached and his cheeks hurt.

Finally he simply dropped back onto his back and closed his eyes so he wouldn't see them anymore. There was a comfortable silence, only broken by the occasional chuckle from Iruka. Almost automatically he started petting Pakkun, who'd crawled up his chest when he lay down.

Apparently Kakashi's hypothesis could not be proven wrong this time. Because Iruka felt much better than he had before.

"We should go", the one with the Mohawk finally said. "He won't last much longer."

"Stupid brat." Pakkun muttered.

"It was for a worthy cause." The bandaged female said.

"I'm not talking about this. I'm talking about him overusing that eye. He knows better."

Iruka sat up abruptly, sending Pakkun rolling back onto the bed ass over teakettle. "Kakashi-san overused the sharingan?" Naruto had told him a little about the effects of using the sharingan too much.

Pakkun grumbled as he righted himself. "He did."

"It costs him energy when he summons you guys right?"

"It does."

Iruka shook his head. "Then why did he-"

The bandaged dog gently bit his hand. "Worthy cause…"

Iruka blushed and scratched his head. "Idiot jounin." He mumbled.

Pakkun nodded. "That's what I said."

"Where is he?" Iruka asked.

"Listening at the door probably…"

Iruka got up determinedly and went for the door. He turned back before opening it. "Thank you, guys."

There was a small popping sound and the four dogs suddenly vanished.

Iruka opened the door quietly and there he was…Sitting on the floor in a slumped pose.

"Kakashi-san"

No answer. Iruka looked a little closer. The jounin seemed to be sleeping. Iruka poked him in the leg gently with his toe.

The white head shot up, saw Iruka and immediately started drooping back.

"Idiot" Iruka mumbled.

He wrapped an arm around the jounin and tried to lift him up, which was harder than Iruka had hoped since the man had apparently decided that now was a good time to lose consciousness altogether.

As Iruka struggled to get the jounin up, Ibiki stepped out of his room. The torture specialist grabbed Kakashi's other arm and lifted him nearly off his feet with disgusting ease.

Together they moved him to Kakashi's bedroom and dropped him onto a chair. The copy-nin hadn't taken the time to get out of his dirty clothes yet, so Iruka held the man upright while Ibiki removed his sandals, bindings, pants and shirt. The mask stayed on, even though it was stained with mud.

It was weird to see the legendary copy ninja in this state. Iruka felt a little guilty for watching him even, yet he couldn't help quickly scanning the man's body. Pale skin, defined muscles and riddled with scars ranging from the faintest of lines to ragged, badly healed scars. A warrior's body. Iruka tore his eyes away before Ibiki caught him staring.

Together they moved the man into the bed and pulled the covers over him. For a time they both stood their, watching their sleeping companion.

"Do you have any injuries?"

"Hnn?" Iruka muttered distractedly without taking his eyes of Kakashi.

Finally he noticed that Ibiki was looking at him with an amused glint in his eyes. Iruka blushed and turned to face him. "Oh umm, nothing major, couple of cuts under my feet from running barefoot. That's all."

"Let me see."

Iruka shook his head. "It's really nothing much, Ibiki-san."

Ibiki ignored him completely and pushed him down to sit on the bed next to Kakashi. "Show me."

Iruka rolled his eyes, but obediently lifted his foot. Ibiki frowned and grabbed his other foot too. Than he put a hand on his chest and pushed Iruka down until he was laying flat on the bed next to Kakashi. "This won't take long."

The torture specialist manoeuvred himself to sit at the end of the bed and held both Iruka's feet in his hand. It tickled at first, but soon a comfortable warmth seemed to flow into him from Ibiki's hands and Iruka relaxed. Suddenly everything that happened that day seemed to catch up on him, and before he'd even realized that he'd closed his eyes, he was asleep.

* * *

When Iruka woke up Ibiki had left and Kakashi was awake, looking at him. His hair was sticking out at odd angles, odder than usual at least and Iruka snorted at the thought.

"Iruka-sensei, are you still mad?" The jounin looked down at him with a serious expression on his face.

Iruka thought about it. He decided to be honest. "No."

"Good."

"How so?"

"I think I'm going to kiss you and if you were still mad you might try to kill me."

A rush of sensation went through Iruka's stomach that he refused to classify as 'butterflies'. "Who says I won't try to kill you now?"

"Pakkun. But then he said I could have kissed you weeks ago and you wouldn't have said no."

Iruka frowned. "Well, then Pakkun was wrong. I certainly would have said no. A few weeks ago."

Kakashi's eye twinkled and seemed to focus on Iruka's lips.

Iruka felt a blush creeping up on him and looked away. "How are you going to kiss anyone anyway with that mask on?"

"I could make you go temporarily blind. Or I could blindfold you."

"Or I could _kill_ you."

"Or you could lock the door, so I can take my mask down."

Iruka stared at the jounin. "You'd do that?"

"You're not a thirteen year old trying to sneak a peek. You're not an enemy either. People have seen my face you know. But I choose who and when."

Iruka stiffly moved from the bed and walked to the door. He put his hand on the latch and hesitated. Was he going to do this? Kakashi was definitely attractive and Iruka wasn't completely inexperienced with one night stands…but Kakashi was not someone he was never going to see again. Would it be worth the potentially uncomfortable situations it might create in the future?

Behind him Kakashi seemed to be waiting patiently for him to make a decision.

And Iruka did.

He locked the door and walked back, feeling nervous and jittery. He crawled back into the bed quickly, underneath the covers this time, and after a deep, calming breath turned to face Kakashi.

The mask was down.

Iruka stared at the man's face intently. It was less smooth than the mask made it look. The scar that peaked out from under his hitai-ate went down almost to the edge of his jaw, it made the jounin look dangerous and rugged. The short stubble only added to the bad boy look.

Kakashi gave him a crooked grin, and Iruka couldn't help himself. He pushed up and then they were kissing.

Kakashi kissed like he seemed to do everything else in his life, except fighting…slow and relaxed.

Impatiently Iruka pushed until the jounin obligingly rolled onto his back and Iruka rolled half on top of him, pushing one leg between Kakashi's and letting his hands roam over the other's body while he softly fucked the jounin's mouth with his tongue.

Kakashi didn't make a sound, but his tiny gasps and uncontrolled moves beneath him told Iruka that the jounin was definitely enjoying himself. Finally Iruka slowly inched his hand toward Kakashi's cock, he couldn't control his curiosity any longer. To his surprise Kakashi broke their kiss and pulled Iruka's hand away.

"What is it?" Iruka muttered, kissing and biting down the jounin's neck.

"I-"

Iruka stopped and looked down at the jounin.

Kakashi looked faintly embarrassed. "I can't. The sharingan…my body hasn't recovered yet."

Iruka sighed and let himself drop down, head pillowed on Kakashi's chest.

The jounin scratched blunt nails softly down his back. "You can-"

"Nah," Iruka muttered. "Later."

Kakashi squeezed him a little. "Later."

They laid in comfortable silence and it wasn't long until Kakashi fell asleep. Iruka enjoyed the warmth of the others body close to his. He relaxed and closed his eyes too. Their mission had been completed successfully and Iruka was pretty damned pleased with the results.

* * *

AN: So umm, yeah, I think maybe that's it for this story. The mission is completed and this seems like a good place to stop. I actually wasn't planning on ending the story in this chapter. I thought I had at least another chapter or two to go before coming to any kind of conclusion, but this chapter simply insisted on being written like this and I couldn't find any place that I wanted to break off the story either.

Once again everyone thank you for all the comments (and cookies). There are few things that I love more than opening my mailbox and finding a review alert. I'm sorry I don't have the time to reply to all of them (damn you real life) but they're definitely appreciated.

Of course Iruka still has his chakra sealed and there are loads of unanswered questions...but I'm tempted to put that in a sequel.


	16. Going home 1

Iruka woke feeling rested and warm. He stretched out fully, enjoying the feeling of the soft bed beneath him. It was a luxury he'd sorely missed the last couple of weeks.

When he turned his head to the side he saw that Kakashi was still lying next to him. Iruka felt the corners of his mouth pull up. Some part of him had expected the jounin to disappear overnight. The few one night stands he'd had over the years all left shortly after the deed was done. Of course…he and Kakashi hadn't actually gotten that far last night…

Even though he'd run his hands through that wild hair and kissed that mouth, it was still strange to see the man without his mask and Iruka had to control the urge to tuck up the blanket and cover the handsome face. It felt a little wrong to be looking at the jounin when he was sleeping, he looked too vulnerable.

Kakashi still looked pale. Unhealthily so. A few livid bruises stood out on the man's skin. Remnants of last night's fight.

Iruka frowned. He wondered how close he'd come to death last night. For Kakashi to be left bruised and chakra-depleted… Iruka was damned lucky to have run into an ally instead of an enemy. He was pretty sure that if things hadn't gone the way they went, the village would have had another name to etch into the memorial stone.

The jounin shifted next to him and Iruka held his breath involuntarily, but the man remained asleep. He must still be exhausted, Iruka thought.

An unwelcome thought crossed Iruka's mind as he looked down at the jounin. What if he'd been the 'after mission lay'? There were loads of stories going around about Kakashi bedding girls he'd rescued on missions. Those stories were mostly spread by the same type of girls as those who followed Sasuke around, so Iruka had never paid much attention to them. Still…sex wasn't an unusual way of coping with the post fight adrenaline high.

There was a very real possibility that Kakashi coming on to him had more to do with availability than any particular like for Iruka's personality or body. He remembered Kakashi's words _'Pakkun said I could have kissed you weeks ago'_. Aside from some teasing nothing had happened in the weeks they'd been travelling, and Kakashi certainly hadn't shown any interest before this mission either. If anything there'd been some animosity between them over the nominations for the chuunin-exam. Had his actions been a result of the thrill of still being alive after a challenging fight?

There was a subtle difference between a one night stand and an 'after mission lay', or at least, Iruka thought there was. A one night stand was…well…more of a rational thing. A mutual decision to screw after having weighed the pros and con's. Do I see this person often? Do I have to work with him? Can we deal with it?

An 'after mission lay' was more emotional, sort of life affirming, a celebration of still being able to screw at all. Which was fine accept the aftermath wasn't given much thought beforehand.

Maybe Kakashi didn't really want this. Whatever 'this' was. Maybe when the jounin finally woke up there would be awkwardness and embarrassment. Maybe the jounin had never planned to take things any further than teasing.

Iruka took a deep breath and looked the jounin over regretfully before quietly moving out of the bed. He would act like nothing had happened. If Kakashi didn't try anything again, he would know that last night's behavior had been an impulse act on the jounin's part.

He really hoped it wasn't though…because that strong body and the handsome face with the rough stubble made him want to crawl back into that bed. He cursed his brain for being sensible, but he didn't need any awkwardness between him and Kakashi. Flirting and teasing were fine, thrilling even, but there was a difference between tension and _tension_.

Maybe he should have left last night, but Kakashi had seemed rational enough…

Iruka turned and headed out the door before he changed his might about doing the smart thing. This wasn't an end to anything, he reminded himself, if Kakashi wanted him, he would try again and the next time it wouldn't be in the aftermath of a life or death battle and Iruka wouldn't have any qualms about taking him up on the offer. Again.

Outside the hallway was empty and Iruka was thankful for that. Even though he knew Asuma and Ibiki undoubtedly knew where he'd spend the night, or morning… whatever, he didn't feel like facing them right away.

In his own room he dropped down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. Today or, judging from the copy-nin's paleness, tomorrow, they would start their journey home. It wouldn't take long this time. Without Leiko there to slow them down they would be able to make good time.

Home…back to his apartment, his classroom, his kids. Mission desk duty. He would take Konohamaru for some ramen, he decided. Of course the one he really wanted to take for some ramen wasn't back in the village yet as far as he knew. Naruto was still out there somewhere, training with-

Iruka sat up straight in his bed. Naruto was out training with Jiraiya. They hadn't visited the village in weeks, maybe months… Who knew how long it would be before they came back.

Was Iruka supposed to wait all that time to get his chakra-control back?

He couldn't give any practical classes like this. History, geography, math, war tactics, _the boring classes_, those he could teach, but during the more physical classes, like target practice, he really needed his control. There were too many accidents during those classes. Without added speed and strength he would never be able to prevent them all.

Also, there would be no short missions to supplement his income, which was very inconvenient because teaching and mission desk duty just didn't pay all that well. He really would be a desk-ninja for a while, useless for all but paperwork.

Perhaps he could send a message to Naruto's pervert-sensei and ask them to make an unscheduled visit to the village? Or perhaps he could meet them somewhere? He was fairly sure that if he suggested an onsen as a meeting place that Jiraiya would not be opposed to changing his plans a little. Of course he'd have to get permission from Tsunade first…

A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts. "Yes?" He answered.

The door was opened cautiously and one of the servant kids peeked around the corner. "There's food in the dining room, mister, if you are hungry. Your companions are there as well."

Iruka nodded. "Thank you."

Well, no time like the present to face his teammates, and now that the kid had mentioned food, Iruka suddenly noticed the empty feeling in his stomach.

Slightly nervous he made his way to the dining area. He hoped Kakashi would still be resting, but when he arrived and the only people at the table were Asuma and Ibiki he felt strangely disappointed. He chuckled at his own mixed up feelings and earned himself an appraising look from Ibiki.

Iruka was grateful when the scarred jounin turned his attention back to his food. Ibiki was way too good at reading people and right now it seemed quite possible that he'd see some things that Iruka didn't want anyone seeing.

"How are you, Iruka-san?" Asuma mumbled around his cigarette.

Iruka plopped down next to the smoking man and snagged an egg-roll. "Good. Had a good night's sleep."

He kept his eyes locked on his plate, not wanting to see if any amused looks were exchanged. "How are your injuries?" He asked.

"Fine."

"The men in the stables?"

Ibiki looked a little smug. "Picked up this morning."

Iruka figured from the look on the jounin's face that he was pleased with the state the drunks had been in when their leader came to collect them.

After their short exchange of words they ate in a comfortable silence.

When they were done Asuma spoke up. "We'll be leaving tomorrow morning Iruka-san."

Iruka nodded. "Will Kakashi-san be ready to travel by then?"

Asuma grinned at him around his cigarette. "I don't know. Will he?"

Iruka could feel the heat creeping up to his face and he knew he was turning a telling shade of red. "I don't know the usual recovery time for sharingan overuse," he muttered.

Ibiki snorted and for a moment Iruka thought he was going to make some kind of horribly cliché remark like _'is that what they call it these days?'_. But the only words to come out of his mouth were "He'll be fit enough."

Iruka plastered a polite smile on his face, nodded agreeably and then quickly made his way back to his room.

Back in his room he looked around and wondered why he hadn't just ignored the amused looks of his teammates and stayed in the dining room. At least he'd have someone to talk to. And besides, one remark about Kurenai and Asuma at least would stop his teasing.

Pulling back the curtains from the window in his room, Iruka estimated the time of day. It was a little before midday, which meant he had a whole lot of time before they were going home.

He wondered what shape the bathhouse was in. He would check it out, he decided. Perhaps if they were already doing repairs he could offer his help.

When he entered the bathhouse he stopped in surprise. He'd expected a mess. Something to match the chaotic events of last night. But all he saw was a pristine, steaming bath with, apparently, no damage at all.

He heard a door open behind him, recognizing the footfall and the breathing as that of the inn-owner.

"You have good timing, son," the old man said as he came to stand next to Iruka, "the explosive went off at exactly the right time, for my bath anyway. It blew all of the water out, but no damage to the bath itself. All that was needed was a little cleaning."

Iruka smiled, relieved that his actions hadn't caused the old man too much inconvenience.

"Why don't you go in? Your friends tell me you aren't leaving yet and your bath was rudely interrupted last night. Go on, I'll get you some towels." He gave Iruka a gentle push towards the showers and disappeared. Presumably to get him some towels.

Iruka looked at the hot steaming water. Why not?

He undressed quickly and thoroughly scrubbed himself clean under the shower before entering the bath.

It felt as good as it had last night. Why didn't he ever visit the bathhouse near Konoha? Sure it was expensive, but damn it was worth the money.

Iruka looked up when he heard a door open again, expecting to see the owner of the inn with the promised towels. Instead he saw the owner of the inn, gently pushing Kakashi towards the showers.

"Go on, it'll fix you right up. I'll go get you some towels"

Iruka snorted quietly when he heard the familiar words.

Kakashi's eye immediately sought him out. The jounin's mask was on again, but his left eye was simply closed instead of covered by his hitai-ate. Their eyes stayed locked for a few seconds while Kakashi apparently tried to look right through him.

'_I know your face' _The thought simply popped into Iruka's head and refused to leave. He knew what was under that mask and it filled him with some sort of…satisfaction…to look at the jounin and _know_ him.

The corners of his mouth rose until he was grinning.

Kakashi turned abruptly.

Iruka's grin fell from his face, until he realized that Kakashi was simply going to the shower. He didn't turn his eyes away as the man stripped and when the jounin was washing himself Iruka was sure that he was showing off. No one needed to flex his muscles that much while showering, and when he bent over to wash his feet…

By the time Kakashi hopped into the bath Iruka was glad that the rising steam made it hard to see what was hidden below the water, because Iruka found himself hiding substantially more than he'd been before the jounin started washing.

Kakashi moved through the water until he was sitting beside Iruka. Almost, but not quite, touching.

" Iruka-sensei," the jounin said by way of greeting.

Iruka nodded. "Kakashi-san"

They sat in silence for a moment and Iruka resisted the urge to touch, either himself or Kakashi. "Did you sleep well?" He finally muttered, "Will you be able to travel tomorrow?"

"Yes"

Iruka tried to think of another conversation-starter, which wasn't easy when all his blood seemed to want to go south. He was about to make a remark about the weather when he noticed the amusement in the jounin's eyes. Kakashi was messing with him.

On impulse Iruka reached out and hooked his finger beneath the material of the jounin's mask. "Kakashi-san, isn't this uncomfortable in the water?"

When Kakashi made no move to stop him, Iruka pulled, but instead of pulling the mask down he pulled it forward. And then he unhooked his finger.

Iruka had a nanosecond to see the jounin's eye widen before the wet, elastic material of the mask slapped back against Kakashi's face and Iruka was diving for cover.

He hadn't even reached the other side of the bath before his ankle was grabbed and he was pulled back roughly. His head dipped under the water and he came back up sputtering and then with another hard pull he was back to where he'd been and one strong hand turned his jaw and he was being kissed.

Iruka opened his mouth when Kakashi's tongue traced his lips and then he chased it back into Kakashi's own mouth. He turned, pushing Kakashi back and sliding until he was sitting astride the man. It was gratifying to feel that the jounin was in exactly the same state that Iruka himself was in. While Kakashi reclined against the edge of the pool, seemingly content to kiss and trace lazy circles on Iruka's back, Iruka let his own hands roam free. He rubbed and squeezed and teased from Kakashi's shoulders to his thighs and finally wrapped his hand around the jounin's dick feeling the man tense all over when he did. He took up a slow rhythm, of squeeze, pull , rub, intent on making the jounin lose any semblance of control.

What happened next went so fast that it left Iruka blinking in confusion. One moment he was sitting on top of Kakashi, trying to drive him insane, the next he was sitting alone and Kakashi was on the other side of the bath looking completely relaxed.

Iruka opened his mouth, completely bewildered, and then he heard the door and he shut his mouth with an audible clack.

Asuma and Ibiki were being pushed through the door with a by now familiar sounding promise of towels.

Iruka growled under his breath and then narrowed his eyes at Kakashi who sheepishly scratched his head.

So far for making the jounin lose control.

* * *

So umm, hi ya'll. Been a long time. My full-time job is eating my soul and my inspiration. I hope this chapter isn't too dissapointing.


	17. Going home 2

Iruka himself never thought he had any self-control issues, or a lack of patience, for that matter.

In fact self-control and patience were essential traits for teachers.

And yet every minute he spent in the pool with the three jounin took all the control and patience he had and then some.

It was hard to concentrate on small talk when your brain was forced to transition from 'sex' to 'friendly conversation with your colleagues' within seconds.

Iruka was sure Ibiki and Asuma knew something was up. He could only hope they didn't know that it was Iruka himself. But for all that he was glad that the others wouldn't be able to discern his state just from looking at the water, he was curious as hell to see if Kakashi was in a similar state still. Of course it was always possible that Kakashi's mental control was so complete that he…well…calmed himself down as quickly as he-

Iruka shook his head, sending droplets flying. These thoughts weren't exactly helping. Maybe-

Iruka twitched violently and nearly yelped when the water around his groin turned icy cold. He shuddered while certain parts of his anatomy tried to take refuge higher up.

One look at his companions told him they weren't having the same problem and Kakashi was studiously ignoring him. So that's how Kakashi had solved his own 'problem', forget mental control, he'd used some sort of jutsu. Should have been Iruka's first thought of course. And normally it would have been. He guessed he was getting used to not having any chakra control, if using a jutsu was no longer his first thought when faced with a problem.

The water slowly took on its pleasant temperature again, but Iruka's 'situation' was solved and he was able to focus completely on the conversation. They were going home tomorrow, and this time there didn't seem to be any hidden meaning behind the words that were being said.

As they sat in the water the warmth of the pool and the quiet surroundings did their job and left them utterly relaxed. But despite the fact he felt close to falling asleep himself, Iruka was still immensely surprised to see Kakashi's eye start drooping more and more. Finally the jounin laid his head back on the edge of the bath and seemed to fall asleep altogether.

As if there was some silent agreement between the three jounin both Asuma and Ibiki sat up a little straighter and seemed to become more alert while their companion dozed. It reminded Iruka of how it felt to be part of a team. Looking after your teammates, trusting them to look after you...He missed that sometimes. Mission were more exception than rule for Iruka these days and most of the missions he did have were solitary ones.

They stayed in the bath for more than an hour before getting out and going to their respective rooms. He'd hesitated a little at his own door, but decided not to make things more obvious for Asuma and Ibiki than they already were. Besides Kakashi obviously needed more rest and if he felt rested enough he could always seek Iruka out.

Of course there wasn't much to do in his room aside from sleeping so Iruka ended up back in bed and staring at the ceiling, until he remembered the book.

Icha Icha was tucked away safely in the inside pocket of his jacket.

Iruka fished it out and stuffed the pillow behind his back against the headboard of the bed to make a comfortable seat.

Half an hour later he was forced to admit that Jiraiya really was a good writer. Even though Yuki wandered from one outrageous sexual adventure to the next, there was just enough plot in the story to make it interesting, to make it more than simple jerk-off material, to make Iruka keep reading, curious about what would happen next.

By now he'd passed the page where he'd opened the book the very first time he'd peeked inside it. Yuki had escaped the tribe of vicious women, taking the brown-haired man, Jun, with him, and he was now escorting his new friend back to his village, where the man's sister waited for him.

Iruka would bet a month's salary that the sister would be gorgeous, big breasted and very, very grateful.

Half an hour later, after the conniving milkmaids and the lonely widow, he found out he was right. Iruka snorted loudly at one of Jun's clumsy attempts to keep Yuki from being alone with his sister.

"It's good, isn't it?"

Iruka was startled so badly by the voice coming from the room he nearly threw the book up in the air and then instinctively shoved it under the blanket...like a teenage boy caught by his mother while reading dirty magazines.

It took less than a second for him to realise the idiocy of that move, and he slowly lifted his eyes to the jounin now standing at the edge of his bed. His ears burned as the blood rushed to his face.

Kakashi wasn't laughing. In fact, his face was completely, carefully blank, not even the tiniest smile showing. That made it all the worse because Iruka just new that inside Kakashi was laughing his ass off at him.

Iruka cleared his throat and fished the book out from under his blanket. "It's- It's good yeah."

Kakashi nodded politely. "I did wonder if you would continue to read it."

"Well I did. I am. I will-" Iruka shut up before he babbled any more nonsense. Wanting to change the subject, he said, "you look good."

The mask twitched right where the corner of Kakashi's mouth would be, and his blank face started to look a little strained.

Iruka realized what he'd said and corrected himself quickly. "Better, I meant you look better."

Kakashi was now full out grinning. Iruka let out a frustrated huff and chucked Icha Icha at the jounin's head. "Oh shut up."

Kakashi caught it, patted the cover fondly, and put it back on the bed. "Didn't say anything."

The silence that followed was slightly tense.

"Soldier pill"

Iruka raised an eyebrow.

"I took a soldier pill," Kakashi clarified.

Iruka frowned. "Was that wise? We aren't leaving until-"

"We'll be leaving earlier than expected."

Iruka stared hard at the jounin. "Why?"

"Asuma remembered he left the heater on at home."

Iruka rolled his eyes, snorted, and clambered of the bed. "Well, in that case we'd better go."

Suddenly Kakashi stood right in front of him. There was an intensity in his eye that caused a shiver to run down Iruka's spine. "We're not leaving _right now_."

Iruka breathed out slowly. "So…how long before-"

"Half an hour."

_Half an hour_. _So much a person can do in half an hour_. Iruka reached out for Kakashi's mask. "Did you lock the door?"

* * *

I don't think there's anyone out there who writes slower than me...but I will finish this fic.


	18. Going home 3

Iruka felt a weird sensation in his stomach when he pulled down the mask and Kakashi didn't make a single move to stop him. Butterflies? Awe?

Indigestion?

To be able to do this and not have his hand violently and permanently separated from the rest of his body was truly amazing. He got to see something countless people would kill to see.

Kakashi seemed to have guessed the gist of Iruka's thoughts, because he was looking just a little bit smug. Annoyingly, the expression only seemed to make the man's face even more handsome.

Iruka didn't get much time to appreciate it though, because Kakashi pulled him forward until their lips met and Iruka's eyes closed of their own accord. He deepened the kiss and prayed fervently that this time they wouldn't be disturbed.

Iruka took a few steps backwards, pulling Kakashi with him, and when he felt the edge of the bed against his knees he twisted sharply. With a firm push he dropped the jounin neatly on the bed and landed on top of him. "Half an hour, eh?"

_Half an hour_. By now Kakashi had shown enough interest in him that Iruka trusted this wouldn't be a one time thing. And now that he knew that, he realized he didn't want their first time having real sex to be rushed. He wanted to drive the jounin wild and their last experience showed him that Kakashi didn't lose control easily. He would need plenty of time and right now they didn't have that. So…he would keep it simple.

He hooked his hands under Kakashi's arms and pulled him further up the bed. The jounin got the picture and obediently scrambled backwards until he was propped up against the headboard, in the exact same spot where Iruka had sat reading earlier.

Satisfied with the position and with the view Kakashi would have, Iruka slid backwards. He pushed up Kakashi's shirt and then unbuttoned his pants. "Lift."

Kakashi lifted his hips for a second and Iruka pulled his pants and underwear down at the same time. Kakashi's hard cock slapped back against his belly, already leaking a little pre-cum, and Iruka licked his lips in anticipation.

With one hand he pulled the jounin's dick up a little and then, keeping his eyes locked with Kakashi's, he licked it from root to tip.

Just like when Iruka had touched him in the pool Kakashi muscles tensed. Iruka smiled. It felt good to know that the jounin was reacting to his touch.

_You haven't__ felt anything yet. _Determined to put all his skills to use, Iruka took one deep breath and then sank down slowly taking Kakashi's dick deeper and deeper until his lips touched the base.

He was rewarded with a small gasp.

He pulled back up and started a slow bobbing motion. In the meantime he let his hands wander, stroking Kakashi's thighs and rubbing his belly.

One of Kakashi's hands slid into his hair and stroked it almost reverently. Suddenly Iruka remembered the jounin's strange look when they'd cut Iruka's hair.

He pulled off for a second and grinned at Kakashi. "It'll grow out soon enough," he murmured before going back to the task at hand. When he looked back at the jounin's face it was definitely flushed, but he couldn't be sure whether it was because of his remark, or because his hand was getting up close and personal with the man's balls.

The knock at the door startled both of them. Iruka felt it in the way Kakashi jerked slightly underneath him.

_Seriously?__! _Was there some kind of cosmic conspiracy to keep the two of them from reaching any kind of orgasm together?

He looked up and saw that Kakashi's mask was once again pulled up. Then looked back down at the straining cock in his hand and snorted, loudly. It suddenly struck him as inordinately funny that the jounin would rather be caught with his pants down than with his mask down.

The knock sounded again and Iruka caught Kakashi's regretful look. He knew the man would never ignore whoever was calling on them. He was too much of a professional. But just because answering was the professional thing to do, didn't mean Iruka had to like it...So just as Kakashi opened his mouth to say something, Iruka squeezed.

Kakashi's 'Who is it?' came out sounding strangled and winded.

There was a long moment of silence before the answer came. "It's me." Ibiki's voice seemed a little strangled too.

Iruka rubbed his thumb over tip of Kakashi's cock, spreading the pre-cum around.

"Go away!" Kakashi said, with a pained look down at Iruka.

Iruka had to bite the blanket to keep from laughing out loud. He set up a slow pumping rhythm.

"I wish I could." Ibiki muttered the words, but his distinctive voice travelled across the door anyway. His next words were spoken louder, and put a premature end to Iruka's game. "We received word from Tsunade-sama."

Iruka immediately let go and sat back with a sigh. Playtime was over. While Kakashi put his clothes back in order, Iruka reached inside his own pants and gave himself a vicious little twist. The shock of pain made his hard dick subside.

He looked up to find Kakashi staring at him with a hungry look in his eye. Iruka shook his head. "Next time you better make damn sure we're not interrupted. Now hurry up."

Kakashi moved faster than Iruka thought possible and within the blink of an eye he was on his back and the jounin was kissing him breathless. The jounin pulled back with obvious reluctance. "Next time," he muttered, and then he was off the bed and opening the door and Iruka was left staring at the ceiling with butterflies in his stomach.

Ibiki walked in, with Asuma right behind him. "I'm sorry to…disturb your rest," Ibiki said.

Iruka snorted. "Not half as sorry as I am." There was no point in trying to hide now.

Asuma grinned and slapped Kakashi on the back, but Ibiki came straight to the point. "There has been another change in plans. We have to make a stop in Tamura, and we have to be there tomorrow night.

Iruka frowned. There was no way he could travel fast enough and long enough to reach Tamura within a day and a half. "Am I to return to Konoha?" _By my self?_

"Tsunade-sama's message arrived only moments ago. Before, our plan was to travel home and make a stop in Kamakura during their flower festival. Kakashi-san suggested that Jiraiya-sama was likely to attend certain parts of their celebration. Meeting with him there would be the earliest opportunity to have your chakra control restored."

So Kakashi had been scheming to meet up with Jiraiya… It was good to know the other man hadn't forgotten about Iruka's plight. And the jounin had taken a soldier pill before he knew of Tsunade's message, which meant he'd rushed his own recovery in order to arrive at the flower festival on time to intercept Jiraiya... There was that fluttery feeling in his stomach again…

"What's the plan now?" Iruka asked.

"I suggest you travel to Kamakura yourself. We will attempt to rejoin you as soon as possible."

Iruka nodded. He felt strangely nervous at the thought of travelling alone while his chakra control was still sealed, but there really wasn't any choice.

Kakashi didn't seem to like the idea much either, judging by his frown.

Ibiki continued. "We will leave now. You'll take one of the horses and leave the other one behind here. We'll make arrangement for it later. If we haven't reached you before Kamakura, try to find Jiraiya-sama on your own and afterwards continue on to Konoha."

Iruka nodded.

Ibiki and Asuma turned and left, but Kakashi remained behind. "I don't like this."

"Me neither, but there's really not much else we can do."

Kakashi's silence told Iruka that he agreed.

"We need to get ready," Kakashi said.

Iruka nodded. But neither of them moved.

Finally Kakashi pulled his mask down to just below his lips. "One for the road?" He asked with a crooked smile.

Iruka felt the corners of his mouth tug up in an answering smile. He hooked a hand behind Kakashi neck and pulled him forward until their lips met. They kissed for long moments until Iruka finally pulled back with a last nip to Kakashi bottom lip. "Go."

* * *

Iruka watched his three companions leave. Within seconds they disappeared into the trees and he was left to start his own journey. After a final goodbye to the owner of the inn, Iruka set off.

Despite his nerves, he was in a pretty good mood. The weather was fine, both he and his horse were well-fed and rested, and he had some good things to look forward to…getting his chakra control back, perhaps seeing Naruto in Kamakura, and, if all went well and they all reached Konoha safely, finally getting Kakashi alone for a couple of hours…

* * *

AN: Hey all, this story hasn't been abondoned yet. ^_^ Thanks to everyone who reads it, and double thanks to those of you who review. It makes my day.


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